Wise Guidelines, But Some I Can't Commit To ...

1. Marry the right person. This one decision will determine  90% of your happiness or misery. ********* 2. Work at something you enjoy and that's worthy of your time and talent. ********* 3. Give people more than they expect and do it cheerfully. ********* 4. Become the most positive and enthusiastic person you know. ********* 5. Be forgiving of yourself and others. ********* 6. Be generous. ********* 7. Have a grateful heart. ********* 8. Persistence, persistence, persistence. ********* 9. Discipline yourself to save money on even the most modest salary. ********* 10. Treat everyone you meet like you want to be treated. ********* 11. Commit yourself to constant improvement. ********* 12. Commit yourself to quality. ********* 13. Understand that happiness is not based on possessions, power or prestige, but on relationship with people you love and respect. ********* 14. Be loyal. ********* 15. Be honest. ********* 16. Be a self-starter. ********* 17. Be decisive even it it means you'll sometimes be wrong. ********* 18. Stop blaming others. Take responsibility for every area of your life. ********* 19. Be bold and courageous. When you look back on your life, you'll regret the things you didn't do more than the ones you did. ********* 20. Take good care of those you love. ********* 21. Don't do anything that wouldn't make your Mom proud. ********* Tags:Wisdom,Decisions

Current Mood: Awake

So You Think You Know Women!

The True Meaning Of What Women Say: - (1) Fine: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up. (2) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house. (3) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine. (4) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It! (5) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing there arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to # 3 for the meaning of nothing.) (6) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a woman can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake. (7) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. (I want to add a clause here - This is true, unless she says 'Thanks a lot' - that is PURE sarcasm and she is not thanking you at all. DO NOT say 'you're welcome' ... that will bring on a 'whatever'). (8) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying __ I couldn't care less! (9) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking 'What's wrong?' For the woman's response refer to # 3. (10) Forget it, : Don't forget it! Try hard to remember what you have forgotten. ** If you remember the terminology you can avoid a lot of arguments ** Tags:women,arguments

Current Mood: Amused

One Man's Quest

Just saw a documentary on Spanish TV, on the life of Mohandas Gandhi, better known as Mahatma Gandhi (not the film with Ben Kingsley in the title role). I think his name means 'great soul'. The film gives the impression that his life had been a total failure.

Gandhi failed in his career as a lawyer in England. He went to South Africa, where he achieved little in his fight for equality for the South Africans there. Then he went to India to liberate the people from the suppression, in the days of it being the British colony, considered as the 'Jewel of the Crown' of the British Empire. Believing that The Almighty would provide all that was necessary, he endeavoured with nothing more than his conscious effort and sheer dogged willpower, hopeful for reaching his goal, but died believing that he had failed, incapable to materialise his aim for all the brothers to live in peace and harmony.

The confrontations of Hindus and Muslins provoked 500.000 deaths, a bitter dispute still pending today without a solution, especially notable in the region of Cachemire. Gandhi once said: " He who says that politics and religion have nothing to do with one another, does not know what are politics, and less what is religion."

Seeing the record of Gandhi's life and following the various stages of his struggle, I think none efforts in our life too, the good work or action we do, wouldn't end up completely fruitless, even though some intended outcome might not be immediately evident. Because, any act of love towards others produces a reaction, which expands in space and time, creating just and friendly environment and changing hearts.

Steady perseverance in transforming our lives, educate our children with love, do our jobs and duties giving our all, developing our vocation and cooperating the fight for justice in the society, would not go without positive effect. We are imperfect, but we haven't failed. Nor had Mahatma Gandhi.

As bystander looking from outside, we can't say that Mahatma Gandhi had failed. He had not only broken up the structure of suppression of colonisation, but had sown the seed of No Violence which continues germinating today still. He too remains a revered figure of reference.

Tags:mahatmagandhi,documentary

Current Mood: Calm

What Does Your T-Shirt Say About You?

Despite the incessant talk in all media and people in the street everywhere, about crises, recession and unemployment, a considerable number of Spanish are enjoying their summer vacations in New York, the country they had in the past resisted visiting, for being too far away and too expensive. With the present currency exchange rate $ / € highly tipping the favour on the latter, it's an opportunity they wish to take advantage of.

Knowing my aversion to the kind of T-shirts with all sorts of absurd messages right across the chest, (proclaiming, declaring, condemning, jeering, including obscenity, vulgarity or blasphemy,) a Spanish friend on holiday in NY sent me an e-mail telling me what he read there in the local press "Metro".

A white girl of 25 bought a T-shirt in Manhattan, with the printed phase across the chest "Obama is my slave". A few days ago, she put on that T-shirt, wearing her earphones of the iPod and went out for a walk. When she reached Union Square, 4 black girls saw and immediately went up to surround her, yanking the earphone off her, pushed her, spat at her, and threw at her all variety of nasty names, including some never heard of.

She wasn't physically hurt, but she decided anyway to present a lawsuit against the shirt designer. But he, the designer, retorted that he was not guilty of anything. He could put anything on his T-shirts as he pleased, it's the girl herself who had chosen it, bought it and paraded in the street with it on. I agree with him up to that point; putting aside his being such an imbecile to consider himself a designer

One would have thought, that girl was a real idiot as well, to display such a phrase on her body in New York, or in any other city, or in any corner of the world. No matter whether she is or not a racist. If she was, advertising that phrase was asking for big trouble to say the least. It's quite possible she wasn't. Buying it then wearing it because she thought it funny or cute.

That brings me back to one of the pet hates of mine, T-shirts with ridiculous messages. I once saw a man in the street, with a well trimmed moustache, expensive looking designer sunglasses, and on the front of his T-shirt, it reads "I have a hole in my ass". Given his clean and tidy appearance, I sought an excuse for his defence, that he didn't understand English, bought the T-shirt for it's colour, design, whatever.

Then I threw that hypothesis out. Why would anybody half sane wish to carry a huge sign on his chest without knowing what it says? If he did know, why did he wish to announce it so? He was another imbecile, I decided. Apart from the hole in his ass, he no doubt has another in his skull, the size of a brain.

Tags:newyork,obama,t-shirts

Current Mood: Blah