Endings And New Beginnings

We all get at least one good wish a year. Over the candles on our birthday, some of us throw in more. On eyelashes, fountains, lucky stars, and every now and then, one of those wishes comes true. So what then? Is it is as good as we'd hoped? Do we bask in the warm glow of our happiness? Or, do we just notice we've got a long list of other wishes waiting to be wished?

What we are going to do with that long list of other wishes? Are we still hoping that all of those will come true? Or perhaps we just have to accept our fate and go with it.

Tomorrow will be an ending and new beginning for me. I started last year with anxiety but full of hope towards the days to come. The uncertainty I faced as I continue my journey, or the way that I described it as “my flight.” As I look back now, it was a mixture of good and not so good memories, of stories of letting go and moving on, jof joy and pain, of triumphs and failures, and loving and being hurt. These are the things I am thankful for. Those things made me who I am now.

Once you reach a certain age, there should be only one phrase left in your vocabulary: Thank-you! With every birthday, gratitude should deepen until it colors every aspect life. But like what I have said last year, “I love living and I hope still to live for a long time, but if I died today it would be okay. I'd be okay - because I'm loved. I know people who love me, and that's enough."

Thank you for all the people, those who have shown love to me, and being an expression of God's love. As I start another year in my life, I carry with me memories and lessons learned. I know I need more and more to trust love and surrender, to let go of myself, especially of my pride, my wounds, my hurts, my mistakes, my past, and my weaknesses, to give myself over to forgiveness. At a certain age, it should come down to one word: "Thanks!"

No Matter What

(a true story -- very touching)

The girl in the picture is Katie Kirkpatrick, she is 21. Next to her, her fiancé, Nick, 23.
The picture was taken shortly before their wedding ceremony, held on January 11, 2005 in the US .
Katie has terminal cancer and spend hours a day receiving medication.
In the picture, Nick is waiting for her on one of the many sessions of Chemo to end.




In spite of all the pain, organ failures, and morphine shots, Katie is going along with her wedding and took care of every detail. The dress had to be adjusted a few times due to her constant weight loss.





An unusual accessory at the wedding was the oxygen tube that Katie used throughout the ceremony and reception as well.
The other couple in the picture is Nick's parents. Excited to see there son marrying his high school sweetheart.




Katie, in her wheelchair with the oxygen tube, listening a song from her husband and friends




At the reception, Katie had to take a few rest breaks. The pain wouldn't allow her to stand up for long periods





Katie died five days after her wedding day. Watching a woman so ill and weak getting married and with a smile on her face makes us think..... Happiness is reachable, no matter how long it lasts. We should stop making our lives complicated.


Life is short ...
kiss passionately, love truly
laugh constantly
And never stop smiling
no matter how strange life is
Life is not always the party we expected to be
but as long as we are here, we should smile and be grateful.

Why Do We Shout When We Are Angry?

A saint asked his disciples, “Why do we shout in anger? Why do people shout at each other when they are upset?”
Disciples thought for a while, one of them said, “Because we lose our calm, we shout for that.”
“But, why shout when the other person is just next to you?” asked the saint. “Isn’t it possible to speak to him or her with a soft voice? Why do you shout at a person when you're angry?”
Disciples gave some other answers but none satisfied the saint.

Finally he explained, “When two people are angry at each other, their hearts distance a lot.
To cover that distance they must shout to be able to hear each other. The angrier they are,
the stronger they will have to shout to hear each other through that great distance.” Then the saint asked,

“What happens when two people fall in love? They don't shout at each other but talk softly, why? Because their hearts are very close. The distance between them is very small.” The saint continued, “When they love each other even more, what happens? They do not speak, only whisper and they get even closer to each other in their love. Finally they even need not whisper, they only look at each other and that's all. That is how close two people are when they love each other.”


It is when we argue we do not let your hearts get distant, we do not say words that distance each other more, else there will come a day when the distance is so great that you will not find the path to return.