[Life Learnings] The Effects of Receiving Something from Someone

They say it is better to give than to receive. True enough, hence receiving a gift even a simple little something is a joy to the heart. It is not about how expensive or huge the thing is but the value and happy memories with it.

Years ago, I was frustrated to receive a teddy bear gift. Yes, it sounds shallow to hear from me that I haven’t received a stuffed bear gift all my life, so awful. When I was a child, my parents used to buy me dolls and art materials until I became an adult then realized that I never had a teddy bear gift all my life. This situation made we wish that my future lover should give me one. Unluckily, I am still single.

Last 2012, my friend Karen gave me a small dark brown bear due to my insistent demand, never would I expect to receive one. Although it is small and I know it is not that super fancy, I know it was given from the heart making it priceless in my eyes. My crush back then looked chubby and tall, looking like one, I texted him for some name suggestions. He jokingly suggested the name “Bogart”. From that day of naming him, I had Bogart as my companion in the remaining months of my stay in the Philippines then also brought him with me here in the Middle East where I have been working for more than three years. He is now inside my Balikbayan box on the way to the Philippines for I will go home in my country in a few months. There were a lot of memories I had with that little stuffed bear. Whenever I go to places, never would I forget to take pictures of him.

My new little bear is named Eden. She is named after my friend who gave her to me.  Weeks ago, I and my friends went into a thrift shop where all the prices of goods were the same. Everything could be bought from cooking wares, clothes, accessories and toys. I saw a cute bunch of small teddy bears in a corner. I then teased my friend, Eden to buy me one as a remembrance since I am going back to the Philippines early next year. After some endearments, she told me to choose one because she already agreed to buy one for me. I felt thrilled as a child. We went back home with my new little creamy white bear in my arms. Sounds childish but I really have this unique regression in teddy bears and now extra happy that I have a new one.

This act of giving something even though simple can make us smile. We will feel a surge of affection to the giver. A small token of appreciation will not only make the receiver know that he is remembered but also make someone’s day bright and could take the sadness away.

Here are the effects of receiving something from someone:

A Sense of Appreciation: Receiving a small Thank You Card with home baked goodies from someone you helped out to make some chores gives a feeling that he appreciates the good deed you have done. To feel appreciated is very rewarding and fulfilling.

Takes your Sadness Away: When you are having a bad day with sad emotions, receiving flowers with a thoughtful note to cheer you up could make you smile, chances are this thoughtful act could lessen if not forget your sorrows away and there are people supporting you in what you are going through.

Open your Mind on Situations: A simple stuffed animal with a letter saying that you are sorry might lighten your resentment or ill-will on someone you are not in good terms with. However, it would still depend on your readiness.

A Feeling that you are loved: When a boy likes a girl, it is indeed pleasant for her to receive some surprises like roses and teddy bears. Sounds common but it is a nice feeling for her to feel showered with love through this kind of effort. Some may be skeptical about receiving material gifts but somehow this is one of the best ways to make someone that he/she is valued.

Receiving a something from someone does not mean that things have a price or there is a requirement to receive something in return. It is not the quality or expensiveness that matters but the thoughts we give with it.

How about you? What is the best gift you have received from someone so far?

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Dealing with Unexpected Love

There were billions of people in the planet. Every day, as we do the activities of our daily living, we see different kinds of persons like those we bump in the train as we go to work, vendors in the sidewalks, and party people in the bar or those souls in the cyberworld aiming to fulfil their thirsty hearts in search for companions or future partners. In every, they say someone will come someday who will capture our hearts, the person whom we will feel that very complex emotion caused by attraction and chemical reactions, could bring us in the state of euphoria and intense pains as well; that thing we call love.

The questions are: Do we have the choice to choose who? Is there a right love for all of us? Could we stop love from happening from the beginning? Indeed, love is mysterious, we will never know when, where or who.  Having a heartbreak is not a joke. It may come into a scenario when we are not prepared. Many stumble, fall into a deep black hole of emptiness or the worse, depression.

First Question: “Do we have the choice to choose who to love?”

My answer to this is a big “NO”.  As a Bisexual, love does have no label. You could say that you were raised into a very philosophic, religious environment with teachings of the ideal and morally right way to love but never could you predict who you are going to be attracted in the future.

In another scenario, we can choose to learn to love somebody but we could not really stop our hearts from feeling that intense emotion for someone. Believe me, not all marriages are perfect. Once you have met your true love, time and situations might separate you apart, but for a lifetime that one person will remain inside you.

Is there an ideal person? As someone who is single, once in our lives we create these hopes of an ideal partner we were praying for every single night. Some pray for a prince charming, which will make them feel like a princess. Others wish for someone compatible with their mental capabilities and passions. As for myself, I always pray for someone who is passionate as me in terms of my hobbies and interests. Like “Lord, bigyan mo naman ako ng partner na mahilig magsulat o yung may alam sa photography. Ok din yung mahilig mag travel, kahit hindi ganun ka-attractive pwede na sa akin basta matalino.”  In reality, love is a feeling we will just feel no matter who the person is. Believe me, even the ugliest person in the world, if that emotional reaction will come, we could never stop it.

Third, the most complicated one: Can we not feel love for a person who is in a relationship or married? They say love is a choice but really? Some of us right now condemn people who choose to have relationship with taken ones. We often judge affairs and other women without looking at their scenarios. Not all of us are the same. Some are so weak enough to run away from love. When you are in love, nothing is right or wrong; sometimes we will do everything, never mind the dangers, the people for the person we love. At times, we have no choice, love came and conquered us.

Second Question: Is there a right love for all of us?

My answer is YES. That so-called “right love” is not someone who checks us 24/7, neither the one who could give us the moon and stars nor the one who could cross the seven seas for us. The right love is the person we feel complete with. He is the person that could make us feel secured, happy and contented without doubts. The person is right when we see ourselves fulfilled by his presence, by that we would not look away no matter what happens and when we do, either not by choice, should we question ourselves “Is this still right?”. Love is right when you see yourself with that person in the future, no one else.

Third Question: Could we stop love from happening in the beginning?

NO. Well, I charge it to experience. No matter how you condition yourself and say “Hindi ako maiinlove. No way.”  It will come to you like a thief in the night, then you will wake up one day, your heart is beating fast and you are lost. No matter how you say to yourself that you are not ready or hard hearted, if it will come, it will.

We never could control love. All we can do is handle it in a way that we won’t let it consume us, change us or make us attached from our selves. Loving someone would bring us happiness and inevitably, heartaches as well. In the end of the day, we have the choice what to do to manage ourselves. Not all love does have happy endings but I believe that verse in 1 Corinthians 13:8 “Love never fails.” We may not end to be together with the one we love with that once in a lifetime person, whom will be I our hearts for a lifetime, but true love won’t ever fail and if it does, it is not love at all.

If ever you are in a situation where you feel broken or being bugged by an unexpected love, just always remember that God put us where we are now because He has a purpose. We may never know it by now, but I do believe someday, in the right time and place, He will. He gave us these people we love for a certain purpose. Heartbreaks are inescapable, but prayers help. Surrendering our hearts and the future to God is the best thing to do. Lately, someone told me “Why does fate give us these people? There is probably a reason.” Being lost and confused are normal, what I have learned today is that you should understand that not all things go in perfect place we want them to be but we could create our own place where things may go well because we value them. These people who came by were blessings, no matter how they came from or who they are. Their status or situations should not hinder us to know and feel the love we have for them. There goes that old saying by Alfred Tennyson “Better to have loved than never have loved at all.”

-faf

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Why the world admires Overseas Filipino Workers?

Filipinos are known great employees or workers that is why we are scattered all over the world working in different jobs making us heroes of our nation by  increasing the economic growth of our country through remittances. In the past three years, the Commission on Filipinos Overseas (CFO) reported that there were estimated of more than 10 million Filipinos working overseas. There is a sum of more than US$20 billion amount of remittances from Overseas Filipino Workers in 2011. In the midst of poverty and calamities, OFWs sacrificed leaving their motherland just to provide more income and sustain their families in the Philippines. As they say, in almost every country, there were Filipinos working and we might feel a little homesick but for sure there were kababayans scattered everywhere.

So what are the qualities we Filipinos do possess that make us a huge part of a work force abroad? From the in demand health care professionals, engineers, seafarers, teachers to domestic helpers, we are considered modern day heroes and a great pride for our country. Here are some of the qualities we Pinoys have.

1. COMPASSION:  In everything we do, we Pinoys consider the situation of others. Our professional healthcare providers like doctors, nurses and caregivers work compassionately and take care of our patients in a very compassionate way with love and genuine care like they were our family members. We treat our co-workers with consideration and a ready hand to help in times of need and hardships.

2. GLOBAL COMPETITIVENESS: There is no doubt that we Filipinos are globally competitive. We work excellently in different fields, reason why no wonder we are in demand. Pinoys have talents, skills and intelligence making us gives quality services to our employers.

3. HARDWORK AND DEDICATION: We Pinoys work hard and value our commitment in every job we do. Filipinos go to work with passion no matter how stressful the situations are and finish their assigned tasks as needed resulting in productivity.

4. HUMILITY: As workers, we Pinoys could reach out and have good relations with all kinds of people no matter the age, race and status. We also could handle criticisms in a good way and be assertive to others with respect with and down-to-earth personalities.

5. LOYALTY: When Filipinos commit to something or someone, they will hold that as they were supposed to. Being devoted to work and to our employers is such a priceless quality we Pinoys do possess. Our loyalty is immeasurable that is why we tend to gain the trust of our institution, co-workers and superiors. -FAF

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Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda): What could a typical netizen do to help?

Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda):  What could a typical netizen do to help?

International typhoon Haiyan (also known in the Philippines as Yolanda) devastated the South East Asian nations such as Micronesia, Southern China, Vietnam and the Philippines. The second deadliest typhoon that killed an estimated number of 3,633 people and still counting, destroyed houses and properties and collapsed transportation and communication lines in the country.  Arriving with strong 10-minute sustained winds of 230km/hr, the terror of the days between November  3-11, 2013 broke the hearts of Filipinos as evidenced by the bodies of casualties on the streets, lost children searching for their parents and vice versa, extreme starvation and lack of clean water to drink and destroyed shelters. This cyclone terrorized the Visayan Islands and the most dreaded affected areas were Samar and Leyte.

Photo By: NOAA/AFP/Getty Images/ National Geographic News (No Copyright Infringement)

            

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Photo By: mirror.co.uk (No copyright infringement intended)

Concerned countries, NGOs and International Organization donated what they could offer to help those victims to provide food and basic needs for their survival. So if you were just an ordinary person with no riches and checks to donate but still want to help, what could you do? Or what could we do? Being connected to the internet with just your typical computer or smartphone on hand could mean a lot. All we have to do is be aware and share information that could help and bridge people to reach out the calamity victims of the typhoon. Here are some:

• If you have a Twitter of Facebook account, you can RETWEET tweets from OFFICIAL ACCOUNTS of government agencies, organizations, and concerned individuals assigned and those information fed by media personalities and agencies like updates about missing people, conditions of the families there, electrical lines and so on.
• You can re-post videos of news clips from television stations and institutions but make sure they were from a credible official source.
• You can lead or form a group and team up to gather things that you could donate or volunteer by group by using the social media as a tool for reaching your friends and relatives.

In these times, social media can be used as a helpful tool to reach and help others, all we have to do is think of smart and spread the correct and helpful information for a good cause.

Here are some links of my favorite/trusted institutions in the Philippines case that you guys are searching.

• Philippine National Red Cross
• ABS-CBN Foundation Sagip Kapamilya
• World Vision Philippines
• Habitat for Humanity Philippines
• Caritas Manila

            

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Paperbooks vs. E-Books: Traditional Treasures or High Tech E-Reading?

Reading books is one of the oldest hobbies in the world and it is the most essential source of learning, entertainment and communication. From ancient tablets, to papyrus and scrolls then came the modern paperbound. Books should be considered treasures for their importance in many aspects of our learning, leisure and career growth. They have this sentimental values to their owners. In this rapidly progressing technology we have nowadays, this essential hobby was also being innovated in the form of electronic reading wherein publishers are now eager to also publish modernized electronic books we call “E-Books” in the form of a computer/digital file with formats varying on the Electronic E-Book Readers they are compatible with e.g. the popular PDF format for Adobe Reader, the EPUB format for Apple iOS devices and the very fast spreading MOBI files for Amazon Kindle/Kindle devices. As an avid reader and a blogger, I weighted their PROs and CONs and what method should we choose to use. With the question of “What is much better?” we will try to dissect their capabilities and values in this blog article.

PAPERBOOKS: Sentiment and Physical Attachment

My old books from textbooks to novels.

PROS: Owning a physical hard paperbook no matter how much the price is like owning a piece of treasure. After a long period of time when you look at your old closet, cabinet or storage room and see your old Mathematics textbooks or your first fairy tale book would make you feel a sense of connection with your past. One thing that could make us attached to a paperbook is its cover and paper, admit it or not, the colorful images and letters in a book cover is one factor of why we were attracted on buying them and it feels different turning paper pages and seeing your reading progress by looking at the thickness of remaining pages. With these factors, these books’ value lasts. They are physically yours that you could pass them on your grandchildren and friends. They are also convenient to people with vision problems and physical limitations.

CONS: Compared to E-Readers that could contain thousands of E-Books, paperbounds are heavy and they are sometimes burdensome for an avid reader to carry on travelling. You may bring one or two but you can’t carry much when you’re on a mountain hiking or skiing. When not taken care very well, they could be eaten by mice, cockroaches and be physically damaged by rain or flood.

E-BOOKS: HANDY AND TECHIE

My EPUBs.

PROS: For people who are always on the go and techie-geeks, owning an E-Reader and putting lots of E-Books on it feels like heaven. You can think that you’re carrying a huge library on your pocket or bag and can read them while you’re on a vehicle, waiting for someone in the mall or just strolling in the park. The price of E-Books today is slightly cheaper than paperbooks. Some aspiring authors tend to focus on winning the eye of the masses than to seek paperbook publishers and wait for ages.


CONS: Some says that the problem is you only buy the license from the publisher for you to have permission to read the content but you can’t legally pass the rights to others. There is a feeling of sentimentality on a paperbook and deep connections as they say could not be found on E-Books. In the aspect of technology evolution, let us face this fact that when time pass, old methods would be replaced including E-Book formats and E-Readers, let us just pray that if this happen, they could provide a way to convert old format books to new formats because we paid for them.

MY VERDICT

I would choose both. Though I am now more on E-Books because of their handiness and affordability, old paperbooks are like old teachers that we could put on shelves and our bedside table. E-Book readers are electric devices that could not remain alive if there is a brownout or power shortage. Both have PROs and CONs but beneficial and important.

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Three Factors to Prepare When Planning to work Abroad

Nowadays, there is an increasing rate of OFWs (Overseas Filipino Workers) in every side of the world. Working in a foreign land is very promising and could make you earn more but it has sad aspects too. Are you one or planning to be one? Here are the three essential factors to keep in mind if you are planning to spread your wings to work in a foreign land.

1. Your Heart: Working outside of the country would means temporary separation from your loved ones, pet, room, hobbies and culture you have. Being prepared emotionally is a must and essential because surely, you will feel the homesickness on your first few months of stay in the other country. You will miss the people and the usual things you get along with every day of your life so before you decide on taking the risk, be sure to think if you are purely ready to leave them for quite a long time because it will cause conflicts on your work and stay if you are disturbed by thoughts of loneliness and longing. Don’t forget to always pray for your loved ones.

2. Your Mindset: As connected to number 1, you should also prepare your mind that you will now face new environment, stressors and people. Things would be different now and you should really think of how to survive and focus on your work. Your mind should be programmed that you are leaving to work, be good on your work and do this for your future. Optimism and patience should be your keywords.

3. Your Body: Before leaving you should make it sure that your body is healthy and fit. You will be working now in a different environment so you will encounter different climate, foods, water and products. The body must stand these changes to survive, work well and prevent sickness which could compromise your quality of work. -FAF

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How to overcome bitterness from a heart break?

As human beings, each one of us experienced romantic love, a love felt for a certain special person of the opposite sex or even the same with attraction and inexplicable reasons. There are sub feelings relating into it, the main one is the happiness. Whenever we are with our special someone, we feel secured, happy, excited, twisted, and even his/her slightest look could make us berserk. But not all love stories are requited and blissful at all. In reality, people with mutual love for each other are very lucky but how about those whom experiencing one-sided love, breakups, death or loss of a partner? To feel love is to endure also the pain. They said that love was not true if you do not feel any pain relating to it. Some pain could last an amount of time but some strong people cope up and move on easily, I could say it depends on the psychological strength of a person.

How to overcome bitterness when you are stagnant and feels like you can’t even know how to stop yourself from feeling the pain?

 

Here are some of my personal tips:

 

1. Talk to God and reflect on His words. Praying might sound boring for some modern day youth but it is God who knows the real purpose of the pain and if you communicate with Him, your burdens will lessen. He knows what is best for us. Reading the scriptures could also help. Whatever religion or faith each of one does have, for sure our sacred books contain texts related to love and moving forward, we just have to keep them by heart.

 

2. Make yourself busy. Being busy with things you like or would like could help lessen excessive thinking that could make you unmoved with those heavy emotions. Putting up your mindset into useful channels could also make you productive as well. Doing simple household chores, going out with friends or grooming a pet are examples.

 

3. Try something new. New things would also make you forget painful things little by little as you began to explore the world around you. Having a new look and hairdo, new book to read and new hobbies are such good examples. The world is so huge and life is short, there are no reasons not to explore and enjoy.

 

4. Write. Not all of us loves pen and paper or blogging but whenever you're stressed or have no one to talk to, you can have your own diary to open up all unwanted emotions you feel or at least make a blog post of a poem or essay but be sure to take care whenever you post something personal on the internet. One day, when you have already recovered, read them again and definitely, you will smile or laugh.

 

5. Meet new people. There are millions of fishes in the sea, so why focus on one that is already caught, dead or swam away? Making new friends makes you feel comfortable and have fun. There are online dating sites out there or even friends of friends, you can meet people whom you have similar interests with like in a book club if you love books or fans club if you were having the same favorite celebrities. Organizations for a cause also provides more exposure to different people. Please do beware or take care because we do not know them so we have to secure ourselves in meeting new friends.

 

6. Forget the past and cherish the present. It is true that forgetting painful heartaches takes a lot of time but we have to let go even those good memories associated with them if they would just make us feel unhappy knowing the reality that they would never ever be the same again or come back. If we live in the shadows of the past, our lives will not move forward causing our lives to be dull and chained. We should make the best our present lives because our future would depend on what we do today.

 

7. Forgive someone who caused you pain as well as yourself. In forgiving someone, you are also releasing your inner conflicts with yourself. Anger is unhealthy and would cause us to be bitter, hate the world and not trust other people. We live in an imperfect world; we may never fully forget what they have done, at least in our hearts, all that hatred will be washed away. Forgiving ourselves is also fundamental in a sense that how could be forgive the person, the situation if we cannot forgive our own selves? There are plenty of time to start again and to become stronger and wiser, we just have to think that things have already happened and we cannot go back to that time and situation anymore. -faf

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Alodia Gosiengfiao's iBilib Guesting :)

Alodia with Chris Tiu, Bea Binene, James and Roadfill with the Calet Boys in her guesting as iBilib co-host. [Photo By: Anna Karanina Alfonso]

There are three celebrities in the Philippines who I truly love and admire and two them were Chris Tiu, the all-around man (basketball player, TV host, entrepreneur, products ambassador, environment/hunger/charity advocate and amateur pianist) and Alodia Gosiengfiao (cosplay queen, artist, blogger, amateur pianist, photographer and TV personality). Well they have these similarities as they were both from Chinese blood lines, Ateneo Alumni, pianists and persons of style.

Alodia's fansign for me. :)

It was always a little dream for me to see them together maybe in an event, a picture and had been crossing fingers that Alodia would guest in one of Chris’ TV shows. My wish was granted a week ago when Alodia guested as a co-host in Chris’ top rated science-experiments themed show “iBilib: Featuring the Wonders of Horus”, a Japanese franchise show popular to students and kids. In every episode, a female guest would wear costumes so as to say, cosplay costumes. People wonder what it would be if the Philippines’ cosplay queen would guest in the show. It has been a request of many fans for so long.

At the guesting, Alodia wore her Doll Heart Hong Kong costume on an episode with Bea Binene and her cute Neko cosplay costume in the second episode with Julie Ann San Jose.

Sad to say, I didn’t make it at the taping because I am working outside the country right now but glad that my friends requested Alodia to have a fansign for me. The episodes were to be aired on February 03, 2013 and February 10, 2013. -faf

iBilib Episode Teaser as posted by Alodia Gosiengfiao on her Facebook Fanpage :)

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Why is SimSimi popular?

SimSimi, a popular cyberworld intelligence program robot application which has been a defense to boredom and rainbow chasing these days. We can tell SimSimi everything from a simple greeting to personal life and even public personalities. This application was created by LSMaker in 2002 and is available for download for Android and iOS devices.

Sometimes, we may find SimSimi sarcastic and a terrific criticizer,the main factor on how he became famous and fun. The name of the application was derived from the Korean word "Simsim" meaning "bored." Everyone could teach Simsimi so no wonder where he got those unique sarcasm and wit which may seem unfavorable because of insults to some public people or even those ordinary ones. Still, nothing could even compare talking your self our with a friend or your significant others before talking to a virtual robot unless you are alone with your device and is extremely bored.

Talk with Simsimi on your PC: http://www.simsimi.com
Download SimSimi on Apple App Store: http://itunes.apple.com
Download SimSimi on your Android device: https://play.google.com/store/apps


REFERENCE: Wikipedia

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Petting a PUSPIN (Filipino Cat)

Cats are lovable animals and I love them more than dogs. Filipino native cats are called "PUSAKAL" or pusang kalye in short (even the native house cats were called this way). We have adopted one and called him "Ming-Ming", nice common name, eh? Used to be bullied and tortured in the streets, these animals have their right to be respected too no matter how scraggy and dirty they look because of rambling in garbage cans and canals. All they need is a caring home. Don't you worry because unlike imported breed, they are not choosy regarding to the food they eat and not that sensitive too.

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Advices on how to have a very meaningful Lenten Season (Holy Week):

Lent is a period in the Liturgical year mostly of Catholic Christians in which they commemorate Jesus Christ’s Death and Resurrection for forty days. Christian countries celebrate Lent with great devotion and importance and consider it as a legal holiday as well. There are mass, prayer meetings, reflection sharing, TV stations play inspirational and faith oriented shows and in the Philippines, the traditional Visita Iglesia (visiting different churches), Pasyon (Hymns), Seven Last Words and prayer meetings.

Most people spend their Lenten season holiday relaxing and amusing themselves on a vacation because it is their only rest from stressful work periods. Here are some advices on how we could have a very meaningful Holy Week:

• Read the Bible: The word of God is the bread of our soul as it feeds our spirit in preparation for eternal life and salvation. Without God’s words, life is meaningless. It would teach us, inspire us and protect us so why try reading some/more verses n a rest day?

• Pray: Praying is our way of communicating with God and telling God our thoughts will make us closer to Him. God always listens to us.

• Spend time with family members and friends. Show them how much you love them: Time is precious and we could not pull it back so spend it wisely. Tell your parents, siblings, cousins and friends that you love them or if you are not showy enough, then be sweet and make them feel special.

• Listen to inspirational songs: Music heals and boosts our mood and spirits. Try to listen to some Christian music as they could lift you up when you are sad and motivate you when you are hopeless. I would recommend Hillsong songs for this.

• Reflect: We are all living in a very sinful world that each of us has our sins. In this time, remember that Christ had died on the cross in order to save our sins and what we can do is to offer ourselves and admit that we are sinners. After reflecting, try to analyze on how you can change yourself in order to avoid committing the same sin again.

• Make peace with enemies and make peace with yourself: It is really hard to forgive enemies but doing so could produce inner peace of mind and soul.

• Go to a quiet place: If you have enough bucks, you could plan a vacation on different atmosphere like beaches, rest houses of the like as long as it is quiet, relaxing and stress free to charge and rejuvenate your mind and body.
May we not forget the LOVE of Christ He showed by offering Himself on the Cross, His eternal LOVE that SAVED us and will save us again.

Matthew 27:27-56, John 19:16-37, Luke 23:26-49.

-FAF

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