Lord, I humble myself to you. I admit that I am a sinner. Forgive me for the many times I sinned. May your death on the cross be a constant reminder to me of how great your love is to mankind. Help me nourish my heart with kindness, love and compassion for others. Let me not judge others because of their mistakes because you never question me when I have my own share of wrong doings. Help me to forgive the people who caused me pain in the same way you did to me. Amen.
Today is Ash Wednesday. Let us repent and believe in the Gospel.
This photo was taken during the 2014 Holy Week at the Manila Cathedral by Noli I. Yamsuan.
I wrote this one way back in June 2011. I just feel the need to post it again to remind other people (even in my own little ways) that it is not money, power, fame and luxuries that matter in life.
We now live in a world of greed where evil surrounds us everywhere. People nowadays are slowly turning into monsters in the face of an angel.
On a positive note, I still see some possessing the virtues of Jesus and Mary. And I still believe that what touches our heart is the little act of kindness that brings joy to our inner being. And we must not forget that these material possessions deteriorate. They will pass eventually. They will fade without us noticing it. They will be in our grasp today but definitely gone tomorrow.
But the kindness, humility, compassion, love, forgiveness, joy and even pain and hardships will surely be our source of happiness. And these things will trace a smile in the face of the Lord and will be a wonderful way to show our gratitude and gratefulness to all the graces we received from Him.
May you find happiness and realization after you read these thoughts.
Thoughts on Happiness
Have you ever felt emptiness inside your heart? That even if you possess all the luxuries and glamour in life, there is still a part of you that is missing? And that is happiness.
Happiness for me is the state of being contented with what you have in life whether materially or emotionally. It is also being joyous and thankful that you have the chance of living and journeying in a world full of beauty. Most of all, happiness is having inner peace.
What makes us happy?
There are many things that make us happy. Things, persons, events, situations make us happy. There are some people whose basis of happiness is through the possession of power, fame and of course money. Money makes the world go round. But money cannot buy happiness. You can wear in your wrist the most expensive Tag Heur watch, or showcase your latest Ferrari car on the road or even own a million peso house in Forbes Park. But you cannot buy happiness. You may also have a dozen of friends which you go out with for a coffee in Starbucks or a lunch at Super Bowl but you cannot buy a bucket of happiness. You may be the most influential people on earth or attain the highest ranking position in the office and yet one part of you is missing. YOu are not happy at all. It is useless. We often recall those pains, hardships, struggles and travails in our lives. But seldom do we look back the good things that happened to us, the people around us, our friends and families. The best way to do is to count your blessings and believe me, you’ll never stop counting. That is happiness.
Happiness is something that cannot be bought. It is a feeling. It is within our hearts. It is a state of fulfillment. It is also an outcome of your act. There are thousand ways to be happy and make other people happy. Being human, we don’t aspire for the downfall of other people. We also don’t expect our neighbors to do us big favors. A little act of kindness and respect will make us happy and will make them happy, too. I remember the thoughts of Mother Teresa, “Not all of us can do great things. But we can do small things with great love.” A simple Hi and Hello can brighten up a day. Doing something good to others without anything in return gives us a feeling of joy, comfort and relief. It is by giving and sharing what you have to the needy that make us more like God. And what more could make us happy? It is through forgiving and forgetting. When we let go of our grudges and throw away excess baggage in our lives, then, we will surely have a taste of happiness.
Happiness is also hurling away anger, jealousy, selfishness and pride. Sometimes it becomes hard for us to heave these things from ourselves especially if it already becomes part of our daily life. You certainly cannot attain happiness if you continue nourishing these evil things and nasty thoughts. These are the works of the devil. These evil ways might break you into pieces and sometimes it becomes too late for you to pick up those chunks. You’re nowhere now. You’re all alone trying to befriend everyone around you. In that sense, you’re lost!
Happiness is also the result of trust. If you know how to put trust to other people, then, in return, you will also feel that they trust you and it’s a nice feeling to be trusted by others. Sometimes we have to open up ourselves, share our wisdom and be what you are. You have to speak and at the same time know when to listen. Do not pretend. Do not wear various masks simply because you mingle with different people. We have different personalities and that make us unique. The challenge there is how you deal with society without exaggeration and pretention. It is how you establish yourself to other people that even if you have committed mistake, they will still accept you and believe in you. More often than not we are uncomfortable saying sorry or pasensiya na. Sometimes it’s hard to do because we are embodied by our own insecurities. We fear of rejection. Remember that you cannot please everybody and you cannot befriend everybody. Pity those who claim that they are a friend to all for they do not have a friend at all. It is better to have 1, 2 or 3 friends around you who are real, true, sincere and loyal than to have a multitude of friends who tolerate your mistakes and cannot even give a bright direction to your life. Just be yourself. Be consistent. Always be fair. Always be courteous and give respect. And most importantly, be humble. Humility is a virtue. And possessing that virtue makes us more human. It’s not easy to say sorry but admitting that you’re wrong doesn’t make you less of a person. It is one step forward to becoming a better person.
Happiness is being accepted and appreciated by other people. It is actually part of the process of life. You don’t need to brag yourself to them and speak of your accomplishments or what field you excel. You don’t need to have expensive things to attract them to appreciate you. We cannot buy love. We also cannot buy friends. We are loved by other people because of who we are and not for what we have. We also love others because of who they are. We accept them despite of their weaknesses. Friends become part of our life if they leave footprints in our hearts and if they continue touching our life with their sincerity and truthfulness.
Happiness for me is FAMILY. It is nice to feel that one of the sources of happiness is our family. They are the most significant gift God has bestowed upon us. They are more than treasure. They are the very reason why we continue fighting the challenges in life. They are good reason to live and to love. Our family is our LIFE with God as the center of everything. It is fine to live in a typical house without enjoying some life’s pleasure and delight as long as you have your family with you. Our happiness can be reflected through our words and deeds inculcated to us by our family. We feel and we speak of happiness when we know and we feel that we are well loved and treated with respect. Our parents as well our brothers and sisters are part of who we are. They help us become a good person so let us love them. Care for them. Nurture them and of course, be proud of them.
When we talk of happiness, we go down from its very root, its source, its beginning and its end. When we talk of happiness, we talk of God. He is the primary reason of our happiness. One way of showing how grateful and thankful we are for the abundance of His blessings is to keep our faith with Him. If we always strengthen our faith in Him and we continue living in His ways, there is certainly bountiful happiness in us. God is good so let’s keep Him always in our life.
I know that we all have different meaning and experience of happiness. But I know that you will all agree with me when I say that happiness comes from within our hearts. Happiness is seen through our eyes, the window to our soul. Our eyes are glowing and glimmering if there is complete happiness in us despite our problems. If there is real happiness inside your heart, then, you are beautiful! Remember that inner beauty comes from within. Inner beauty is inner peace. And I am very sure that you can wear that genuine smile.
So, smile! Be Merry and be HAPPY!
