Well it is another month again. It’s the month of May! Though it is not my birth month, I believe that this month holds the promise for great things. So get ready for may blessings. There is so much to celebrate – most importantly life. While I neither have time or fingers to type all that will be celebrated this month, here are a few…
There are so many good things happening in May. May begins smile month in Britain! how many persons knew that? In May many celebrate Mother’s Day, and you need to make sure that you celebrate those women who have mothered you, not just the one who birthed you. Take the time to appreciate all that that this woman or women have done to make you into the person you are. It’s also child’s month in Jamaica and other countries and child’s day is celebrated around the world. It’s also the time when teachers are recognised for their hard work and overall genius in and out of the classroom.
And then there are days in the month that are internationally recognised:
Do you know of any other celebrations or observances? what else can we add to the list above? Let me know below.
It is apparent that there are many things to celebrate and recognise this month. Make sure that you take the time to recognise the achievement of others as you forge ahead in claiming all the wonderful things waiting for you. May your May be blessed!
Keep moving but be sure to stop along the way to celebrate the steps taken!
change the world by changing you. It has to start somewhere!
I sat and asked a very important question: how can I make an impact? I realise that I am no longer comfortable being among the crowd, going to work, going back home, waiting away the time. I’m ready for a change. So today I speak change into my life. That means I have to get off my increasingly big butt and do stuff!
Easier said than done…
Easier said than done; and it’s true. It’s easier to say you want a change than actually making changes, venturing into the unknown. Before you even make a move a thousand and one doubts assail me. Who am I kidding? What are you going to do that you couldn’t have done before? aaaah that pesky little devil’s voice can be really annoying. And crippling. The best course of action is to take action!
Now my idea of changing the world was to do something grand. Something so big that everyone can see that I am doing something! Who wants to hide their light under a bushel?
Alas change does not come that swiftly or easily. So I sit here still wondering how I am going be a part of a change that will not only benefit me but those within and outside my circle.
Then out of the blue a eureka moment; a light bulb goes off. Well change takes time doesn’t it? Rome certainly wasn’t built in a day was it? So I recognised that I got to start small. I have to start by doing the little things that count. Positive things, like smiling more, being a little more willing to help and being more positive in my words, actions and thoughts. Give someone a hug and a compliment instead of just doing so im my head.
Starting small pays
It also pays to appreciate the little things that you have and celebrate the small victories, even when no one is around to see them and celebrate with you. Identify those things about you that you do not like that you recognise that others do not like and make one change at a time. Make sure that you have a plan! I repeat, make sure you have a plan. This is crucial to the success of any venture. And if you know you are a chronic procrastinator like me, make sure to have a friend (really good friend that is), who will help you to be more accountable. But the most important thing that we all need to remember is that change is an uncomfortable process. Therefore we need to really get comfortable with being uncomfortable.
So as we go about the business of change, my advice is for us to have fun embracing the change that is coming our way.
Have you ever said the words above to someone? When they have lost faith in themselves and you desperately want them to get back on track. Has anyone ever said those words to you? Certainly I have said themor something similar to students past and present, family and friends .
Now, how often do you say these words to yourself?
When you say or hear those those words, do you considered what they truly mean; what message is being transmitted? when you say them you are telling that person, hey I have faith in you and your ability or abilities. And guess what, I will support your dreams and ambitions.
The believe in something is a phrasal verb, and there is another concept in believing in something. When you believe in something or someone it means you are convinced that person or thing exists. So along with believing in that person or thing is the understanding that you believe in what they represent and their purpose.
Your life is the fruit of your own doing. You have no one to blame but yourself.
Joseph Campbell
Now another question is how many of us believe in ourselves? I am sure that a lot of us would immediately shout yes. But before you answer the question, answer the ones below I came across at the website learnstreaming.com.
Do you often feel the need to explain yourself?
Are you indecisive and then doubt your choices when you do make a decision?
Do you find it difficult to accept compliments?
modify your behaviour based on what others think?
Do you often find yourself on the defense?
Try to cover up your mistakes?
If your answers were mostly yes, then it means you still have some way to go in believing in yourself.
It’s easy for us to believe in others than ourselves. Yes it’s a hard pill to swallow but it’s true. Really, we mostly cannot relate to (Narcissus). It’s easier to because often times we have very little confidence in ourselves and our abilities. We are unable to see what others see in us and when they tell us we choose not to believe because we have convinced ourselves that we are protecting ourselves from being disappointed when these great things they see in us do not manifest.
Believing is a choice
Attitude is a choice. Happiness is a choice. Optimism is a choice. Kindness is a choice. Giving is a choice. Respect is a choice. Whatever choice you make makes you. Choose wisely
Another way to think about this, is to tell ourselves that believing in yourself is a sign of choosing to reject self hate and embrace self love. How can you honestly believe in the value of someone else if you are careless with yourself ? Ultimately, you are going to be careless with the persons who are around. We need to really believe in ourselves and practise positive affirmations. We can begin by acknowledging that we are worth the time and effort needed to nurture our potentials and live our purpose. We need to trust that God has given us all we need to do what we ought to do, even when we walk a path that is different from those around us. you always have the choice to believe the good versus the bad. To believe in yourself or not. Choose wisely.
Have you ever given someone advice and said to yourself, man Im good, I have it figured out. But then we catch ourselves doing the opposite of what we advice. In that moment many of us feel like real bonafide hypocrites. I got a reality check from a colleague who read my blogs regularly. She asked in essence if I was practicing what I was preaching. In motivating others was I motivated? I said yes but i also started to question the extent to which this was true and I felt like a part time hypocrite.
I am really grateful for this platform to inspire at least one person. Before I started this blog I questioned my purpose and how I could do acts of kindness. I thought to myself what can i do to be a positive influence. I decided to start a blog because i loved writing and because I love words and how words can transform something simple into something magical. Something you cannot recreate simply in your thoughts but you could see touch and then be. In the course of contributing to this blog I realised that it is not only to reach as many people as i can. It is also for me. I hope that doesn’t sound selfish. When people comment and make suggestions I feel as if I have reconnected with myself I can reaffirm my humanity through someone else’s humanity via this portal that leads to human connections.
Many of us- the majority- have good intention and so we give some excellent advice. Sadly still many if us do not take our own advice and we maybe the ones who need it the most. Its hard to admit that we can help others but we cannot help ourselves. Its sad to know that we are disappointing others by not living by what we preach. But its never easy to do this. So we hide our own pain behind a smile and good intentions; but the disguise never holds true. The cracks are always revealed and ultimately the mask will crumble…
The wonderful advice you give is not your own but they have been given to you by God initially for you and then you see the merit of sharing with others. Sometimes it’s better to take advice when we are not being objective. But we should never forget that we do not always need to look outside ourselves for the truth; for our truth. We don’t need an epiphany moment, the answer was before us all along. Sometimes it is not that we do not have the answer, its that we are afraid to disrupt the falsehood we have been operating under, we have gotten so comfortable behind our mask, that we think it is really who we are. And believing this is when we begin to fail ourselves. If you can only console/build and see the good in others, you may ending thinking that everyone deserves saving but you. So how can you be sincere in telling others that they are worth it, but you cannot tell yourself that?
Don’t be deceived into thinking that the advice you give to others was not also intended for you. Know that you are where you are not only to facilitate the growth of others but also your own. How can you hope to inspire change if you remain the same, if you feel there is no more room for improvement or hope for you? And when we see someone who seems to have all the answers fall, extend a hand to help them up. Even the most optimistic among us need a word of encouragement every now and then.
Verse to consider
James 1:5 If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him
Starting is easy when you finally decide to. However, where it really gets interesting is when Mohammed must decide whether or not he wants to meet the mountain! Of course I take this from the age old adage, “if the mountain will not come to Mohammed then Mohammed must go to the mountain”. What this is really saying is that if your will does not prevail as the ultimate choice then you must submit to an alternative. Let’s unpackage this.
We want to move on. We can see just ahead the new path we must take and we want to take it. But, before we can start on that new path, we need to finish this course. We are almost there, it’s almost finished – but not quite yet. For the impatient ones among us we begin to burn our bridge before we have finished crossing and risk falling to our demise – unintentionally of course. Many of us do not realise that it is the last 20% of work that requires 80% of our total effort to make the whole enterprise complete.
Many will start fast, few will finish strong
Gary Ryan Blair
I recently reminded my students that they will have to consider that many of the persons who they will leave school with when they graduate, will not be around them forever. They will leave together, but they will not stay together. It takes time to really understand what this means but after this discussion I did hear some of them reflecting on this truth that many find incomprehensible now. The friends you can’t go a day without talking to now, one day you will go days, then months, then years without seeing or talking to. As you run your race and you look to the left or the right, you begin to realise that some have dropped way behind or have opted out of the race completely. What will you do? Will you wait for them to catch up or will you join them on the sidelines. Also, consider that when many have left us we still have our race to complete, when we fail to maintain the pace others set for us we still have to finish the race the best we can. There is nothing that is guaranteed in this life; you won’t be the same forever, you won’t live in the same place, or be around the same people, love the same things and the list goes on. What is clear is that we all have a purpose and if we want to see it through then we have to ensure that when all else fails, our will and drive to finish our race is never compromised.
Is the Mountain Friend or foe?
We started at the mountain and there we shall end. The mountain can be viewed either as positive or negative. Moving forward, always look at the mountain as your springboard to success. A mountain can be the thing that tests and sharpen a spirit of survival; a testimony of your spiritual and mental growth and maturity. When you begin a race you don’t know the rest stops you will have to make but the mountain is always in sight and to meet it and experience it is to be at your optimum. It is where you will find your perfect self from your imperfect experiences.
The mountain is not an obstacle but a jump off to a better you Photo by Aron Visuals from Pexels
“Let us do something, while we have the chance! It is not every day that we are needed. Not indeed that we personally are needed. Others would meet the case equally well, if not better. To all mankind they were addressed, those cries for help still ringing in our ears! But at this place, at this moment of time, all mankind is us, whether we like it or not. Let us make the most of it, before it is too late! Let us represent worthily for one the foul brood to which a cruel fate consigned us! What do you say? It is true that when with folded arms we weigh the pros and cons we are no less a credit to our species. The tiger bounds to the help of his congeners without the least reflexion, or else he slinks away into the depths of the thickets. But that is not the question. What are we doing here, that is the question. And we are blessed in this, that we happen to know the answer. Yes, in the immense confusion one thing alone is clear. We are waiting for Godot to come — ”
When I was in my second year of University I did a course – can’t remember the name of the course, (that was a whiles ago; plus I can’t even remember my name sometimes!). One of the books we did was Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett. I was intrigued by the play instantly and I could not explain why, because the situation and the characters in the play were also very absurdly comical yet tragic. Why was I so fascinated with a storyline that seemed futile, frustrating and somewhat sad. I don’t think I could translate how sad I was by this tragicomedy of Vladimir, Estragon, Pozzo and Lucky. I now guess it was the idea of waiting for someone, or something with great hope and anticipation only to be the only fool who does not know it will never come (this has been overly simplified by me of course). Adding insult to insult is the fact that they wait by a leafless and presumably fruitless tree -which signifies further, the futility of their wait.
If think about how often we wait, we may begin to question the value of waiting or whether there is even anything meaningful about life. When life becomes too predictable to the point of seeming meaningless then we are losing the waiting game.
What are the lesson of waiting for Godot?
For the play published in 1952, (yes it’s that old), there are ideas that are present and relevant in our world today that we can consider. There is a real and present fear that each of us have and that is of “going against the grain”; so we think: if I do not stay within the expectations of others and what society dictates, what will become of me? And finally we think that we will be left behind if we do not take part in everything happening around us. A lot of us live lives that are just as absurd as the characters; we feel compelled to wait for someone or something that we do not have to wait for or do things we don’t have to do, but complain when we do, but still do it. By now you must realise how utterly exhausting and depressing the concept is.
When to wait…
For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
when we face a crisis in life, it sometimes pays to wait on the outcome instead of trying to buldoser our way through the situation.When we try to move before the time is right we end up making the situation worse.ultimately we lose what could have been gained by exerting a little patience and faith. We need to know when to take action and when to wait patiently.
All the ways of a man are clean in his own sight, But the LORD weighs the motives.
Also, if you truly believe in something and are genuine with your intentions, then waiting will not be a burden. How often have you committed to something, only to lose interest and give up when things are not going according to your plans. Many of us if we are truly honest with ourselves will recognise the harsh truth. If you do something for short term gain or success, is it truly a passion? Is our pursuit of that thing something that will boost our egos and not benefit another person. When we cannot wait to see things through, it means that the venture was doomed to fail because we did not have the right intentions. It may mean finding what is really of value to us and not what is popular and “success driven”. When we are forced to wait then we can come face to face with our real motives.
And patience produces character, and character produces hope
Romans 5:4
Finally, waiting may be necessary for us to grow into the persons we were always meant to be. There are many times when we rush into situations because we cannot wait and we not only cause harm to ourselves but those who love and support us. While we want everything now, it is important to acknowledge that there is value in waiting until the time is right. Over time we can become less rough around the edges and a lot wiser. Taking the time to pay attention to details also comes from waiting, and while many may view it as being a coward, when we choose to wait we will be able to pick what is valuable and leave behind what is not. As a result, we will be rewarded for waiting in faith and we will value and appreciate what we had to wait for. Waiting therefore means that we will grow in character and come to appreciate the little things that truly matter…
And when waiting is a game you think you will lose know that one day you will say:
Time passed and the spring flowers have bloomed I’m letting go of the cold days…
Here is a message we have heard all the time in many different ways. But I think we all need to be reminded of this. It’s easy for this message to be lost in the highly competitive world that we live in…
A UK study conducted in 2017 by the Royal Society for Public Health and the Young Health Movement ranked Instagram the worst for mental health in young people. When we see people sharing “their lives”, going out constantly, taking trips around the world and generally “living their best lives”, it can cause anxiety and depression in many. But why? These negative feelings stem from the fact that these images make many feel as if they are missing out, or not doing enough to make their lives great.
Each of you must examine your own actions. Then you can be proud of your own accomplishments without comparing yourself to others. Assume your own responsibility.
Galatians 6:4-5
We look around and see that everyone is trying to attain what they believe to be the ideal life. We receive pressure from school, our parents and our friends to measure success by what others have or are doing. A lot of young people seem to find school less and less rewarding, not because it’s not where their interest lies but because a lot are gravitating towards the social media culture. In a discussion with my sixth form students, we were discussing why so many of their classmates were missing from school. One person informed me that some had given up basically on school and were trying to “make it” on social media. Another student pointed out a sad reality, ” many of them are at home with zero subscribers because they don’t really understand how social media works?”
How many of us are guilty of venturing down a path that we really are not interested in beyond, what we can get out of it? When we do things for gain and not because we are excited or passionate about, any success that we may have can never be sustained. A simply analogy is this: if you do something only for praise and to have material gain then the reward will be empty. Do it because you love it, because it makes you happy and others are positively impacted by what you do.
So, don’t be anxious about what others are doing or how much they have accomplished in a short time. If you are able to find your passion and pursue it, you my friend are already a success. You will not be remembered for how well you tried to be someone you are not, the unique qualities that only you possession. Once you recognise that you have been living a life of comparisons, pause and count your blessings. Be thankful for what you dohave and what you can do. Remove negative energy by always expressing gratitude. Be thankful also for your flaws, for they have made you who you are and they remind you that no one is perfect. And when you see someone you admire, don’t try to tear them down so you can be where they are. Support and encourage them and others will do the same for you.
Also know that comparisons do not support love for it says in James 3:16: For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there will be disorder and every vile practice. Instead of comparison, focus on your journey Focus on becoming through what you can learn and what you can create independent of the next person. If you remain stuck on what others are doing, you will never know what you are suppose to be doing and what you truly want. The next time you have a decision to make don’t discourage yourself by comparing yourself to others; your purpose has been tailor made for you.
ramblrWrites.com 