Tuesday's Tune: Ghost

Several interesting songs have come out of Katy Perry's Prism album (of the three that she's officially released so far, I'm loving this song the most).  Yet, it's this song, "Ghost," that I wanted to share.

I've mentioned before that I've been rediscovering myself and really appreciating my life.  In do so, I'm reflecting back on all the people that have come in and out of my life.  Sometimes, I can't even believe that certain people were a part of my life. Did our relationship ever exist?  Was I really in love with that person?  Was I really that heart broken?  Now, it feels as if that person's just a ghost, not able to hurt me anymore (although, Hmong ghosts can be a bit scary and are harder to forget).  Funny how time really does erase a lot.

I think the lyrics are a bit catchy.  Let me know what you think of this song.  Does this song bring up images of any ghosts from your past? 

Going Down Memory Lane

I've finally been able to set up my scanner to my laptop so that I can start scanning all of my pictures.  The intent is to not only preserve our family pictures but also to share it with the rest of my siblings and their respective families.

Oh my gosh, it's been some time since I've looked closely at these pictures.  I can't believe how much time has flown by.  I'm reminded of all the wonderful and happy times.  I'm also surprised at how much time has faded the hurt feelings and closed up the wounds.  I'm not implying that I'm looking at all of my memories with rose-colored glasses, only that time really does heal.

I've read that some people are trying to simplify their lives by scanning their pictures and then throwing away the original pictures.  That way, they have less "clutter" or "stuff" around the house.  I don't think I could ever do that.  Even though I have an electronic copy of the original, the quality of the original is so much better and I'm always afraid that I'd lose the electronic copy.  No, I'll keep all of my original pictures.  It's too hard to part with.

I guess this never ending winter vortex is a bit useful after all - I'll be staying indoors and scan as many pictures as possible.  

Have you started scanning your pictures?  Would you throw away your original pictures once scanned?

Celebrate Love

Happy belated Valentine's.  My life has been quite hectic the last week or two and I was just too exhausted to post anything for yesterday.  Even though Valentine's Day has passed, the celebration of love shouldn't be limited to February 14th.  My hope is that you continue to celebrate love and believe in love each day.

Months ago, I was reading something and a person wrote how she thought the most awful feeling in the world was loneliness.  For me, it's feeling unloved.  This can be due to someone not loving you or even not loving one's self.  I once had a former beau who told me that he was willing to "settle" for me because in his eyes at the time, I was a viable person for him, I was financially secure, and I didn't have any baggage.  He told me he would work on learning to love me.  At the time, I had enough self love and faith in my self to tell that him I couldn't accept it.  As much as I would've liked to move forward with him, I couldn't live with the fact that I'm agreeing to be in a relationship where I'm unloved.  How awful is that?  So, I told him I didn't want to pursue a relationship with him because I still believe in love and I know that there's somebody in this world that would be with me because of love (not because I was his only option, not because of financial security, not because I met his criteria for a mate).

So, regardless of whatever stage you are in your relationship, with another person or with your own self, I hope you continue to celebrate love and believe in love.  Honor it and know that it exists and is all around you.

Tuesday's Tune: Beneath Your Beautiful

In the spirit of Valentines Day, I want to share the song "Beneath Your Beautiful" by Labrinth featuring Emeli Sande.  The song reminds me that we all wear masks on a daily basis to portray to the world what we think our beautiful/perfect selves are or ought to be.  Sometimes, if we continuously keep our masks on, our masks may become our persona and it can be very hard to distinguish what's real and what's just a mask.  

Very rarely do we let another into our sacred spaces and our private worlds because we all are essentially vulnerable beings.  It may take that "right" person or it may just be about having faith in one's self to put down the mask and let another see what's underneath the "beautiful."  Sometimes, you might just realize right away, once the mask is taken off, that you've been beautiful all along.

Sponsoring a Child

There's a blogger that I read from time to time.  At the end of last month, I caught up on several of his postings and was really moved to action.  He blogged about how he sponsored a child (in Africa) through an organization called Compassion and how he was going to Africa to meet the girl he sponsored and other children sponsored through this organization.  I was really moved by his postings because it wasn't just the monetary sponsorship that made a difference in this child's life, but it's also building a connection with the child that leads to hope and the possibility of a better future.

So, I sponsored a child through Compassion (there are so many children that are hoping to be sponsored).  This sounds lame, but I chose this particular boy because his picture reminded me of my former beau, who once took a picture in a suit that was two sizes too big for him because that was the only nice suit he had (he was meeting a Congressional leader that particular day).  

Last night I got a packet from Compassion with general information about my child and the program itself.  After looking through the packet, I wrote a letter to my boy and will be sending it off tomorrow.  I hope I can positively contribute to his life (kinda like how the sponsors positively contributed to my life when my family and I came to the United States).  I am really looking forward to any letters he may send me and of course, I'd love to write to him. I'd encourage you to check out information about Compassion and if you are able to, please sponsor a child.

The following is Compassion's website:  http://www.compassion.com/sponsor_a_child/default.htm?referer=134065

Friday's Quote: Lucius Annaeus Seneca

"No man was ever wise by chance."---Lucius Annaeus Seneca

I still have many many many more ways to go before I'm within the vicinity of becoming wise.  I don't know if I'll ever be wise in this lifetime.  I've so much to learn, of course much of my learning is through trial and error.  

Most recently, I've been bad at returning correspondences and I think I may have hurt someone's feelings because I took too long to respond.  I also listened to some bad advice and it made my situation even worse.  At the moment, I may have to further mend the rift with this person.  I hope that there won't be any hard feelings.  This situation reminds me how far off I am from being wise, but at least I'm learning.  If there's a next time, I will just go with my own gut feeling and do what I think is right.

What mistakes, lessons, or "hard knocks" have you gone through that's helped you moved closer to becoming wiser?

Smile

Tuesday's Tune: Hello

"Hello," by the Stafford Brothers featuring Christina Milian and Lil Wayne, is a part of my workout jam. The beat really motivates me to run faster and I have yet to get tired of it.  Christina Milian's voice really works with the music and Lil Wayne's rap, as always, is captivating (his play on word usage and meaning, double entendre, cultural references are intriguing).

The song makes me think of all the times when I should've never said "hello" and should've kept my eyes only on my own business.  I chalk it up to life lessons that I had to learn the hard way.

What do you think of this song?

Gratitude

I've been on a soulful journey, taking a look at all the things that I should be grateful for.  So far, it's been one of the most enlightening journeys of my life.  Life's drudgeries are a heavy burden to carry around and can easily make me jaded, but this journey has been eye opening and I'm reevaluating and appreciating my life.  So, the following is a very short list of the many many things in my life that I'm so appreciative of and am thankful for:

1. Life--I'm so happy to still have breath in me and to know that there is still so much living to do.  Despite the good, bad, and uncertainties, I'm not ready to give up on my purpose of being here.

2. Love--I am surrounded by love, I come from love, and there is still love out there for me.  I receive love in so many forms and I give love in my own way.  One of the biggest lessons I've learned is to love myself.  I refuse to give up on love and I will continue to carry it in my heart.

3. Human Contact--I don't think I can be a hermit, although I'm sure others would characterize me as one.  From just a smile, a simple face-to-face hello, an emotional heart wrenching phone conversation, to a warm embrace, I love all the human contacts that come into my life.  Some contacts raise my spirits, while some drag me down.  Yet, I learn so much from each contact and I'm appreciative of the interaction.

There's so much to be thankful and grateful for.  What in your life are you grateful for?