FLAMENCO DANCER

Inspired by the works of Gaudi and Cezanne, my Flamenco Dancer's dress also comprises of cut up credit cards and gift cards in a mosaic just like Gaudi!  It turned out exactly as how I imagined it and quite pleased with the result!

HOMESPUN LIVING

Our world today is not void of complications.  It seems that the safe place for us to be is at home.  However, even in our homes there exists the strong influence of the outside world.  Media has brought to us its complexities via TV and internet in the privacy of our homes.  What used to be simple, basic, unpolished, generic and organic has now been unraveled by it.

Home is where we should feel secure, loved and comfortably situated.  To be able to be ourselves around people we love and who love us back.  It doesn’t exist anymore in most homes.  We have become very busy and the house is no longer a home but instead only a domain of rest only to hit the road again day in and day out trying to fit everything in the span of 24 hours.  We never stop and step back to realize that life is getting away from us and the days go by too fast and is unstoppable.

But is there a way to even turn the clocks back and have a mulligan?  Perhaps not.  But there is still time, there will always be time to change that, and that time is NOW.  The moment you realize that time will not stand still for you is the moment you make that change.

Why not cook more meals at home?  Why not eat together at the table every night?  Why not spend more time with the people who mean the world to us because tomorrow is not promised.  If we can only realize that the only thing that separates life from death is that one heartbeat.  In the blink of an eye we can lose a loved one and never ever be able to talk with them in this life.

Make your home the simple, unpolished, generic and organic place that it was meant to be.  Quiet the roaring hustle and bustle of life in your mind and slow the pace down.  It will be well worth it in the long run... or short.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

DARE TO BE DIFFERENT

Are you an original?  Do you pattern your every actions, character, ideals, or interests based on another?  If you struggle to find your true originality, then you would become like a fish out of water.  You would not be able to establish any kind of consistency in your life.  Sadly, you will have wasted your life until today oppressing true individual that you are.

The saying, "often imitated but never duplicated" holds so true because we were born in this world stamped with a uniqueness from God.  He created us all equal physically and basically with a head, two eyes, a nose, a mouth, etc.  But our hearts, and our minds are totally unique.  We all think differently. 

Sure we are taught in our childhood to follow the norm, whether it's good or bad, but when we become liberated from those types of people, namely, our parents, our grandparents, our teachers and other authority figures, we develop our own style, our own ideals, our own talents and our own individual life.  It is our mature minds that create a different path for ourselves in order to attain what we set out to conquer.

Along the way, however, we become enamored by people who tend to inspire us either for good or bad and influence our way of thinking.  All of a sudden we become such people.  The difference between you and them is that they have found their originality while you still seek for yours.  Regardless of the outcome, when that person is no longer in your life for some reason or another, you feel lost.  The reason is because you have patterned yourself and depended on another's originality instead of developing your own.  There is a moment of separation after being influenced by another that was attractive to you, and innovating that likability into your own groove to make it your own.

Being confident in yourself will open doors and opportunities for you.  It is the light that shines from within that prevails and makes an impression in other people's minds to inspire them than the beautiful outside coating alone.

Dare to be different.  Be yourself, everyone else is already taken.

Until my next rant…. LOVE ONE ANOTHER!

DAILY AFFIRMATION

GOSSIP

What is gossip?  It is shared information about another person or persons that could, if repeated and spread, may result in the destruction of such person or persons.  

So why do we gossip?  If you really dissect the reasons, there is absolutely no valid or productive one for gossiping.  The tongue is the most dangerous part of our bodies.  It could make or break people in the eyes of others.  Proverbs 18:8 states that gossip is so tasty and how we love to swallow it.  What is it about smearing another person's reputation that is so enticing to a gossip?  Is it that the subject has something they are jealous about or maybe to simply be vindictive?  It has been known that people who spread gossip my be so dissatisfied with their own lives that they needlessly create a smokescreen for their own insecurities by diverting the negative attention to another.  The Bible also instructs us not to associate with slanderers (Proverbs 26:20).  But yet, we continue to do so as if there is an exciting affect that is stirred up in us knowing that someone else is going through some kind of chaos in their lives.

Then there are the ones who  listen to them.  There is no difference between the two if the listener spreads it further.  It would be better for him/her to just listen to the gossip, pray for both the gossip and the subject of it then not repeating it to anyone else and take it with them to their grave.  If the gossip is repeated, the repeater is looked upon just as vilified as the person who started the rumor.  It is very difficult to keep gossip to ourselves.  The Bible says that it is easier for a woman in labor not to give birth than a fool not to repeat gossip.  

I have observed some people gossip about others simply to avoid revealing their own character to the other.  It is a sort of a transparent brick wall, if you will.

So what would be the best way to divert an unavoidable circumstance of gossip?  Do you have the wherewithal to take it to the grave with you?  Personally, if I know the person fairly well, I would be frank enough to make them aware that they are gossiping and suggest that instead of gossiping, pray for that person. There is no way we could ever know if the subject of the gossip is hurting and how much they are hurting.  Next, I would own the responsibility of not repeating the information to anyone else.  Remember, whomever the information came from, whether it was straight from the source or associated to the source, it was told to that person in confidence.  Not only is it pleasing to God's eyes to do this, but also a great way to stay out of trouble and gain the trust of the circles you belong in.

This is my two cents.  Until my next rant…. LOVE ONE ANOTHER!!

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HAPPINESS UNCOMPROMISED

There is nothing in this world more important to a parent than to see their children’s happiness uncompromised.  We all are, more often than not, influenced by our parents’ good advice.  No good parent will ever give bad advice to their children.  But there comes a point in our lives where we decide to take our own paths that could perhaps be contradictory from our parents’ advise.  If we do, we have take any consequence that may result from that decision, whether it be good or bad.  That’s just part of life.

There are times when we take our parents’ advice but know deep in our hearts that it, although custom fit to their lives, does not fit in ours, but somehow we are afraid to take a chance because we may hear “I told you so.”  

As a parent, I would rather see my children take their own good advice.  They may ask for mine and I would freely give it but with the understanding that I give advice based on my own life experiences.  There is no way I could ever know every aspect of what is in their hearts.  Regardless of the results of the path they paved for themselves, at the end I will still be there with open arms to love them unconditionally.

God’s love is a trillion more times powerful than mine as a parent.  God will take anyone, at any time, with any past, the worst of the worst, through genuine acceptance of Jesus and repentance from sin.  Could this be the reason why as humans we tend to disrespect that unconditional love?  Perhaps.  If these people could only understand the magnificence, the blessings and grace that can come out of a love like God’s, turning their lives around and running back into His arms would not be such a difficult decision.

Until my next rant... LOVE ONE ANOTHER!