When Dreams Crumble

When dreams crumble, we feel hopelessness, misery, despair. We begin to feel that everything is crumbling towards us, burying us in a pit of depression.

When dreams crumble, time suddenly stops and our whole world grounds to a halt. It's as if crumpled dreams can bend space and time that we can't go forward and go on living. We tend to go back in time and backtrack where we blundered and regretted doing it over and over, trapping us in a past that can never be rectified.

When dreams crumble, the test of character begins. It's the time when our high spirits suddenly plummet and we begin to question our belief and faith.

When dreams crumble, our optimism and confidence begins to recede. Our positive outlook in life begins to dim. The feeling of pessimism begins to creep in engulfing us with the dark fear of failing again.

When dreams crumble, it sparks hatred. We get angry of the world. We blame ourselves. And worst we blame God for our predicament.

When dreams crumble, everything becomes nothing.

When dreams crumble, it is not the time to wage war against the world. It is not the time to revolt against God. It is certainly not the time to blame ourselves for our failure. It is the start of a new challenge. A start of a different path towards our dreams. Because the path towards it is not a straight line, it is a combination of different branches which represent choices and decisions. We may choose to start from scratch or from the root, or we can choose to tread another path much like a detour.

This war is not us against anyone else but rather it's us against ourselves. This is a test of faith. A test of strength. A test of perseverance. If we succumb to our own failure, everything will go to waste, our dreams along with it.

Our failure to fulfill our dreams is not at all a failure. It is not the end nor it was a waste of time. It is not a blot in our resumes but rather an additional experience that we can flaunt. It is something that we should not be ashamed of but something that we are proud of. Because as we build our dreams, we are building our own character.

Life is simple.

Life is simple. Most of the time we just complicate it. When we prioritize our wants before our needs. When we first think of our luxuries instead of our necessities. When we satisfy our desires instead of our dreams; when we satisfy first our mind's curiosity before our heart's contentment. Sometimes we are not in a position to complain because of our predicament. The way we came to be is our own choosing. We made our choices; we made our decisions. We choose to live luxuriously at the expense of our future. It's not the world's fault. It's ours.

The principle of simple living doesn't necessarily mean depriving oneself with life's great pleasures. It only means controlling your desire of material things created by man that rely so much on money. Controlling yourself to have more than what you can afford. Simply put, do not live beyond your means. Because real happiness and pleasure cannot be satisfactorily realized through material things.

The roots of complicated life most of the time weave from our relentless crave for earth-borne material things. These are but one of the many maladies of being human. We dream,therefore we desire. We wish, therefore, we envy. We yearn, therefore, we feel jealous. And how else can we cure these disease other than to satisfy them. However, there are gifts that are innate to us to counteract these undesirable traits. We were bestowed the gift of wisdom, the power of perception, and the philosophy of understanding.

Therefore, in the midst of these enthralling temptations, we have the power to thwart all of them so that we can live simply and modestly. We must not let these material things control us, but rather let us control them for better purposes.

Real happiness can only be obtained from within ourselves, our families, our friends and how we perceive our relationship with others. Life is simple, don't complicate it. Of course, you'd think you deserve to live better and that's when positive outlook and your drive to succeed comes in. But that is another story.

Delaying God's Blessings

I believe that God's gifts and blessings are abundantly laid before us. Most of the time, it's up to us to find our way to them. God has done His part and it's up to us to complete the task.

Each of us is gifted with his own natural skills - our own core gifts. I don't know anyone who doesn't. Even a toddler has skills to show. These God-given gifts, coupled with our desire for something greater than we already have, should drive us towards these blessings. Each of us has his own dreams. And dreams are meant to be fulfilled. All we have to do to realize them is to take ACTION. How is it then that most of us are not able to accomplish this?

There are a few things to note why dreams are not fulfilled, get abandoned and eventually wasted.

1. Lack of persistence. We easily get discouraged at the sight of failure. Once failed, we channel our energies to other things. We're like the fox that sour-grapes when we can't get what we want.

2. Hopelessness. One who has the positive outlook will never lose hope. Sometimes we should find positive things out every failure. As Thomas Edison said, "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work. "

3. Lack of faith. A person who doesn't have faith in himself will never fulfill his dream. Your lacking in faith or in spirit will drive you to nowhere because faith will fuel your spirit to go on even thru rough roads.

4. Failure to acknowledge own weaknesses. In order to master our strengths, we must be aware of our weaknesses first. Acknowledging our weaknesses is a very vital step in sharpening our skill set in order to achieve our goals.

5. Denying others' help. Most of the time, we will not be alone in our adventure. There will be others whom we will share our dreams with. They may be able to help us along the way and we may be able to help them in return. We must be humble enough to realize that we will not have all the solutions at hand even though we have prepared heavily.

6. Laziness and procrastination. Of course it's so obvious that putting off tomorrow what you can do today will definitely delay everything. Whatever goal you are set on doing won't be accomplished unless started. Therefore starting early will definitely reward you earlier blessings.

I love Bo Sanchez's idea about our power to delay God's blessings. We have the power to realize these blessings however we also have the power to delay them. Unless we have the focus and discipline, unless we have the spirit and faith, these dreams of ours will stay as dreams. Dreams that are so near, but yet so far because we failed to ACT upon them.

A period of great depression

We are in a period of "great depression". Everyone is depressed!

The economic crisis is affecting us severely, killing our jobs and disrupting our way of life. Some people are losing their grip. They are like robots that malfunction when subjected to intense stress and pressure. Some resort to violence; suicide, indiscriminate shooting and atrocities that are unthinkable. Some people tend to hurt not only themselves but the innocents, even their own families. Such wave of terrifying news has gripped the world during the past months.

I say it's cowardice to result to such inhuman acts. First of all, violence doesn't solve anything. Second, losing work doesn't mean losing everything more so your life. We are here not to work but to live. We received the gift of life so it is our job to preserve it, realize it and fulfill it. True, losing our financial security is a tragedy. But it's just plain dumb and stupid to resort to such violent means.

Here in the Philippines, the crisis is rarely felt. People even laughed it off implying that they have been used to it. That their lives have been in crisis ever since. There is a great deal of advantage living in developing countries like the Philippines. People have been acquainted with life's hardships. You would find them living life one day at a time. Struggling to make both ends meet. Yet, even the poorest of the poor, will find time to laugh, find leisure and enjoy life.

Problems abound. Life is not life without problems. And crisis or no crisis, life should go on. Remember, these struggles will either make us or break us. If we make it through, that will add to our remarkable life resume. If not, there are people around us that we can turn to for help. Prayers will help a lot. It's those times when faith really plays a pivotal role.

Problems are just temporary. They tend to fade away and resolve themselves in time even without you lifting a single finger. So hold on. Endure every struggle. Before you know it, your storm has already passed.

Life is meant to be shared

Life in solitude is the saddest thing. Life is not meant to be spent in closed doors. Certainly not in an island where one is trapped by the boundless ocean.

The beauty of life can only be seen in the wonderful harmony of intertwined relationships - between yourself and your family, your friends, your neighbor, a stranger or anybody. Because life is meant to be shared. Those whose life feels incomplete needs to be complemented by others. Those who are in dire need need help. Those who are feeling alone and in despair need attention.

There are some ways to complement others' needs. Through compassion, the desire to help, and love for others are just some of them. The bad news is that, we are being held back by our fear and mistrust of others. Of thoughts that these people are just pretending and are not really worth our help.

True, there are people out there who in their desire for easier meal will take advantage on those who are warm-hearted. This should not hinder us. Those of us who are burdened by these limitations need only think of the story of the Good Samaritan, who in his selfless act of love gave new life to a total stranger. So don't be afraid to help, don't be scared to approach someone who asks for help. Reach out, open the doors of life and let those who are in need know that someone out there is ready to lend a helping hand.

Because life is really meant to be shared.