Author: Michael

Are we living a lie? Is this our life….is is what we want…. is this what we are? Are we doing this to please anyone….or is this way a getaway from our grief…our past..our disappointment ? Only we can answer this question! We smile when there is nothing to smile about…we laugh when all we want to do is cry….we are among friends when all we want is to be alone! Sometimes we are poor and want to live like rich persons. ..and vice versa. We sometimes change our lifestyle to please someone or to improve our chances at love! Why don’t we just be ourselves and avoid future problems ? Other times we are so traumatized physically and emotionally that we behave in a totally different manner,,,,even our best friends don’t recognize us…but do they try to fathom the reasons behind our change ? Who knows? But do we care? I GUESS NOT ! For us, our behavior ..our life style is normal because that is the frame of mind in which we are! When people are like this, we need to reach out and touch… we need to help…we need to hear their cries ! Living a lie deliberately is not something we should attempt ,,,we are robbing ourselves of our own time …our own lives…let people appreciate us for who we really are. and not our fake images which we are projecting. So don’t waste your lives,,,,believe in yourselves! Stop living a lie……………

Apart from being a word with several letters, it also means a very heavy weight on your shoulders! For some , it may be a joy because they are taking care of their loved ones. We all have responsibility from the time we are very young to the time we expire. Some young ones start taking care of their even younger siblings because of various reasons…they are probably homeless…they have no food…their parents have passed away or are alcoholics! As we become older, we take on more because we wish to do so or out of necessity! We interact with more people and our shoulders become broader. We acquire jobs which require much attention and we stand up to the task, doing our best. We have a family and provide for them unconditionally! Even , in various walks of life, responsibility shows up…we meet and greet it with honor. But not everyone has this built in their character. There are the shirkers who look for loopholes to evade it…procrastination is the thief of time..their time! These dreamers waste their lives but really believe that they’re having fun. Little do they realize that that their path is long and crooked. As I said , responsibility is a very heavy word, but even the weakest person can carry it!

Throughout our travels, we meet, greet, and sleep with other partners. Is this a one time thing..a one night stand ..just to satisfy our hunger..our burning desire..our need for companionship , or is it something more? Most likely, it is too early to tell…we are still practically strangers in the night! Sometime in the future, we decide to get married..make it legal….work on the books ( so to speak) ..have many witnesses…make a big show out of it! But are we really ready for marriage? That is one giant step! It involves too many commitments to discuss here. Are we really and truly committed to spend the rest of our natural lives with only each other? Will there be other intimate relationships outside of marriages because life is long or short depending on your point of view ? Will your love be magnanimous , like the Titanic, seemingly built to endure whatever conditions may arise, but then suddenly disappear from our sight like a falling star? We will not be able to answer that until we reach the end, but we surely can work on it! Apart from love, there has to be TRUTH AND SINCERITY! We cannot return to our homes daily , full of doubts and insecurities .. we should not enter our homes. ..fully dressed with the cloak of questions on our marriages! After a while, these very doubts fester, and infect whatever good feelings we have…thus breaking apart like the Titanic , and we drown in our own dark emotions! Truth and sincerity would have prevented all this! So before you embrace that rollercoaster ride of marriage, think twice! Am I really prepared to live with this person ..be true..be honest..be sincere and to love through thick and thin until the day I die?

Have you ever thought that our lives may be compared to a book? When we are young , that thought would never cross our mind! Obviously , we’ll be thinking of our fun time…maybe our homework or even our crush on someone. Will there be much contemplation on tomorrow? I seriously doubt it! We will be busy enjoying our time with never a thought of tomorrow. Our parents have to ponder over that! Then after a while. we move to a different location or even a new country…make new friends…new crushes…new experiences. Now , is maturity stepping in,,,,are we getting wise,,,do we think of tomorrow? Do we now realize that the road before us is not a simple straight line ? Soon, we will embark on life’s journey,,,,,where our previous outlook on it will be far different than what we anticipated. Our lives will be enriched (or not ) by love…death…jealousy…greed and the rest of the package! Now that we have those experiences , we will reflect on our past …the different choices we made with the corresponding results,,,,,,our past will become sections,,,,,different chapters like a book! Our present situation will be the chapter that we are now writing. Will this be a bestseller …we don’t know! The book is still unfinished. Now is the time we should ask ourselves the main question…..who will write in your book these words….THE END ? Obviously it won’t be you because you never know when the roll will be called up yonder! But , on the other hand, some people can actually write THE END,,, and close the book! Think about it! Who will write THE END in your book? ,,,,Your choice…..

There are so many people who have faced losses…money wise or love or physical …loss of limbs ..eyes..etc..but let us dwell for just a moment on the loss of a loved one. .HOW DO WE FEEL? Are we stressed out…..are we in control of our emotions…..are we happy for some selfish reason? Who knows? We all have our own reasons! We may be in for some money! But what about the genuinely sad ones? Why don’t we put ourselves in their shoes, and feel what they feel? Is it a happy sight just looking at their loved one’s lifeless body who has a single tear at the corner of one of their eyes? What does it feel like trying to restrain someone who is looking at the cremation or the lifeless body being put in their resting ground? It hurts! We have to be on the same wavelength as the sad ones to actually listen to the cries of the anguished and lonely…..then we just may understand. That hurt stays with us as long as we are alive….as long as our hearts are beating,,,as long as our minds can function! Then we are alone regardless of how many people are around us,,..We cry because we know how it feels! Now what about the loved one who is on the brink of leaving this physical world ……how do they feel…we can only guess unless we are there at their very last breath ! I am sure they worry about us and our future…..they probably think of all the wonderful moments they spent, and now they have to say goodbye! HOW SAD! Maybe they did not do enough…or so they think….but everyone knows DEATH is inevitable…..so do the best you can while you are alive…so you have less to worry about……and the living has to remember this….LIFE HAS TO GO ON!

In this world, there are the rich folks ,the poor people and those in the middle …let’s consider ,for a short while ,the rich and the poor because, if we don’t, who else will? Some people are born with silver spoons in their mouths…some attain their riches through hard work or by other means which we should not touch! So , with all that wealth, do they sleep at nights, or do they not sleep at all, but occupy their minds with thoughts of becoming even wealthier? We might say ” uneasy lies the head that wears the crown of wealth! ” Do the rich trample over the poor in their quest for wealth..fame ..power? Or do they realize that there are the little people below , and tread carefully so as not to trample them? Do they make regular donations for the needy, or are they going to take their wealth with them when their names are called to exit this physical world? Will their spirits linger on , grieving over all that was left? Who knows? How do the poor sleep….on the sidewalks…under the bridges..in broken homes…on park benches or somewhere else? Are they worried about tomorrow or not? Some have nothing to worry about because they have absolutely nothing! Some worry about experiencing tomorrow….where to get food…how to pay the bills…the mortgage.. and so much more! How do these people feel? Don’t we care about them? Should the rich carefully listen to the wind, they will hear the cries of agony..of despair..of the suffering of the poor……begging for help!

Please stay a while! I have missed you so much . When I am not with you, my world is empty and I feel so lonely. Time stands still even though there is movement all around! I am in darkness…there is no sunshine nor moonlight …my life is like the desert with no oasis in sight! I cry but still there are no tears . My heart aches because there is no life blood of love flowing….there are no birds singing nor flowers blooming! It is raining loneliness on me but I don’t feel anything …my body is already numb from the pain of being without you. So won’t you please stay a while with me? Let me feel your warm embrace…let me drown myself in the scent of your love…let me run my fingers through your hair. This is where I belong! Now I can truly experience love and return the same unconditionally. My world is you…my life is you ..my present is with you. ..and should there be a future, let it be you, my love! Now I can just reach up and pluck a star or even the sun and give it to you as a gift…in fact , my whole life is your gift! Soon you must leave , and then I will anxiously await our next visit..our next reunion…..MY NEXT DREAM!

Everyone has opinions on this..even the experts who have written so many books on the subject . BUT WHAT THEY DON’T REALIZE IS THAT THIS INFORMATION IS GENERAL AND NOT A CASE STUDY! I am not an expert, but my input on the subject comes from my experience as a parent. Before i go further, i want to mention this…. it is always better to be honest and sincere , and choose your words very carefully, for human beings are very fragile creatures where their feelings are concerned! Wrong words can destroy nations, much less people. ..Generally , we want our children to be like us……if we are doctors, we want our children to be the same…..and so on. When we say something , we want our children to totally agree with us! . There should be no room for further discussion….so , i guess, we want little robots of ourselves! The future will be a robotic world….a world ruled by robots! EACH PERSON IS AN INDIVIDUAL, and is different from anyone else! Parental control can only go so far…..we advise because we have been down that path before,,,,but we are forgetting this! At the time we were facing the similar situation, we were confronted with several options…we chose one and our Advice was based on our choice! Now that our children are faced with a similar situation, how can we know that he/ she will choose the same choice we made! Maybe he/ she will choose another option.. another path… another tree limb onto which to jump ….different from ours! All we have to do is to support them in their choice…monitor from a distance! We want our children to become a credit to society…….so let them be…..we want them to learn from mistakes or experiences because only then will they be able to modify their choices ….LIFE IS A LEARNING PROCESS !.. .SO STILL BE THERE FOR THEM!!

The heart, as far as we are concerned, is just a vital organ in the body..it pumps blood to different parts of the body, thus keeping us alive. At some point in our lives, we develop a heart condition…maybe due to hypertension or other factors. We get admitted to a hospital to rectify the situation either through medication or surgery! But when we do a heart checkup , why isn’t it possible not only to see what’s going on inside , but to also see the emotional side residing there? Who knows? Maybe the future will be so advanced, they will be able to do that! Apart from being just a physical organ , shouldn’t we consider it as the housing of all our emotions..love, hate , anger and the rest…….our very soul!! When we see a loved one, does our hearts race before our minds or vice versa? When a loved one passes away, do we say that our minds will always be with them or do our hearts feel the pain…the anguish…the suffering…the loss? Both emotionally and physically , hearts are very fragile and thus we should always nourish them with , not only healthy foods but also healthy emotions…Love! Do the regular heart checkup…both physically and emotionally…..analyze whether everything is fine….see that all the pieces are well and in place! Should something not feel right, get it fixed…..because Life demands that. This is not a movie or a book where you can skip all the main sections and check the ending .You are here for a purpose….only which the HEART knows too well!

When we think of gain and loss, what goes through our minds? Is it about money? Do we wonder how much profit we can make in this TRANSACTION, or how much we can LOSE if we don’t rob this person…maybe thousands..maybe millions? Does everything boils down to money? Do we think about happiness and sorrow….will I be happier with this person or the other? Will my life be a sea of sadness living with A. or will it be a bed of roses living with B? Will there be a port where I may harbor my sad life…my loss? Should I set sail into the sunset with my loved one and find my happiness….my Gain? Never forget…to every action, there is a reaction…… once there is a void, something fills it up…maybe air or sadness! As we climb that ladder of success to reach the top, are we going to trample on people…either physically or emotionally? As we keep climbing, do we lose something..like our true selves …? As we gain love, do we lose sadness….as we gain hope, do we lose despair…in our quest for fame and fortune, do we forget our true friends and family? Do we become blind to these little things? We should wake up and smell the roses! What is it worth to gain the whole world and lose our soul? Never forget!! Whenever and wherever there is gain, there is always a loss!!