Regina Brett's fifty Life Lessons: The Nineteenth Lesson

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Lesson Number Nineteen: It's never too late to have a happy childhood.  But the second one is up to you and no one else.

Childhood

Childhood is the time of our life wherein we enjoy much the world without pretenses. It is the time where we are genuine and free of emotional baggages. However, not all of us experience happy childhood, rich and poor alike. 

Poverty could be a reason that prevents from having a happy childhood 

Sometimes we believe poverty prevents us from having a happy childhood because many children are force to work early in life to help their parents earn a living and support the family. It is partly true. Instead of running freely along the beach or flying kites in the field, some children are deprived of these activities because they are in the streets selling newspapers or cigarettes. They could be in the field not playing but working, tilling the soil.

Child abuse also prevents a happy childhood 

 

Sometimes too children are abused physically, emotionally and psychologically. Mostly, those who are doing these abuses are the ones who never get to have a happy childhood. 

If we happen to be one of these children, are our lives doomed to be unhappy forever? 

No, of course not. We always have a choice. when we grow older and choose to be wiser, we would discover that life is beautiful. Because no matter how ugly our past experiences may seem to be, we still have the choice to make it beautiful. 

 God is always willing to help us have a happy childhood

The good news is that, we have a loving God who always guides us to making our life beautiful. We always have a choice. We always have a chance because our God is the God of second chances. If we have a checkered childhood, the way to make it beautiful is to live it over again differently. We just have to forgive everything that happened in our past. Accept everyhting, forgive everything and go on make our life beautiful. It is not difficult. It is easy. Just give it a try because no one can make you happy other than yourself. So go on, have a happy second childhood.

Get happy!

Regina Brett's Fifty Life Lessons: The Eighteenth Lesson

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Lesson Number Eighteen: A writer writes.  If you want to be a writer, write.

This is a lesson I, myself, have to learn. When I was twenty-five years old I told myself, I should have written a book by the time I am thirty-five years old. And it must be a published book. Now, I am thirty-seven. Did I have that written book? No. There is none. Am I disappointed? Absolutely! 

This is an advice I always hear from writers: if you want o be a writer, write, write, write.... Well, I really love to write. And I really want to become a writer. It is just simple as it seems - to just write. However, it is not that easy because it is not everyday or every hour I have the inspiration. More often than not I just stare into an empty screen or paper. Writers need inspiration. And that inspiration is what prompts us to write. But just like any undertaking, all we need to do is establishing discipline and giving more time to constant practice until such undertaking is mastered and achieved. 

There is one obstacle, we, aspiring writers have to hurdle --time. Yes, there is always a time for everything. But when faced with so many activities and responsibilities, we just have to prioritize. Take my situation for example; I am a working mom with two kids, one four-year old and one seven-month old. Our nanny is staying out and is present only during the day. My only help at night is my mother because my husband is busy with his other responsibilities. With all the household chores, we hardly have time for ourselves alone. Thus it is harder for me to find time to write. However, it is my calling. I lose balance in myself whenever I put aside taking care of my soul. What I did, whenever I have free time at work I write even just for thirty minutes in between clients' and office mates' interruption. It might seem difficult for me, yet I have to do it if I were to please my soul--if I were to become a writer.

So to all aspiring writers out there, I will repeat Regina Brett's words, 'if you want to be a writer, write.  

Get happy!   

Regina Brett's Fifty Life Lessons: The Seventeenth Lesson

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Lesson Number Seventeen: You can get through anything if you stay put in today.

The shape of the future lies solely on what we are doing today. We could have a memorable past if we make today memorable. Today is the mother of the past and the future. Thus, if we want to have brighter days, brighter past, brighter tomorrow we should tune in as much as we can today.

If we are strong today, if we are prayerful today, if we are grateful today, if we are peaceful today, there is no reason we could never get through anything at all. Today is the only day we have. We could never have yesterday and tomorrow at the same time. We are given only today to smile our best smile, to be our best self, to be generous as we can be, to be peaceful as we can be, to be understanding as we can be.

So why wait for another day that never comes. There is no another day. There is only today.    

Get happy!

Regina Brett's Fifty Life Lessons: The Sixteenth Lesson

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Lesson Number Sixteen: Life is too short for long pity parties.  Get busy living, or get busy dying.

Parties are okay. It is one way of relaxing our tired minds and bodies as well as meeting friends. However, too much of it is no longer good for our well-being. Our life balance would be at stake and is at risk of crumbling much later.

We are the holder of our life. Whichever way we may choose to trod, or whatever it is we want to do with it is up to us. We just have to choose wisely if we are to enjoy much our life. Once a wise person said, 'life is too short, use it wisely'. Whoever he is, he is very much right. Life would be much happier if in every decision we make, we first pause and ask, 'Am I doing the right thing? Is this the wisest decision I ever made? Would my life improve or become better if I do this?' By doing this, we are busy living our lives and busy preparing for our deaths. When we have a well-lived life, death is no longer a problem to us. Why would we be afraid of dying when we are already fulfilled living? What is out there to live for more? 

One thing about death--we are not really afraid to die. We are just afraid of letting go. It is the attachment to things we still want to do that prevents us from dying. Thus if we are to have a happy death, let us do each of our missions in life. Living life to the fullest is at the top of it.

So don't waste your time in pity parties. Go on. Get busy living your beautiful life.

Get happy!

     

Regina Brett's Fifty Life Lessons: The Fifteenth Lesson

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Lesson Number Fifteen: Everything can change in the blink of an eye.  But don't worry; God never blinks.

It came as a shock to the television viewers, as well as to the family, and to the fans of AJ Perez when his sudden death was announced in the breaking news. I was one of them. I was one of the followers of his just ended telenovela 'Sabel'. Nobody ever expected him to die so young. Nobody wanted it. I knew because I too couldn't accept it. I had difficulty accepting the truth. His life just snapped with a blink of an eye. It was just a result of the driver's wrong decision. But 'puff', he was gone forever. And everything changed in his family, in his fans and followers, in the network where he worked, and in the world. All because there is no more AJ Perez to threw his innocent and sweet smile to us. Just with a blink of an eye....Just a blink of an eye.

But, yes, God never blinks. Whatever we have, wherever we are, God is watching us. Whatever happens He is always there. Everything happens for a reason. We may ask why. We may say it's unfair. But who are we to question God's plans? He never blinks. He knows what He is doing. Therefore, we just have to offer everything to Him. We may have some fears of letting go, but that is a part of life. It just pushes us to lean on to God the more and trust in His wisdom. All we have to do is let go and let God.

Get happy!