It's OK to be YOU!

I believe in biodiversity. I believe that God created us to be who we are -- that each person has his own characteristics, that every individual is unique, and that each soul is special. Whatever His purpose may be, you should acknowledge the fact that you are one of a kind and others are too.

 
Needless to say, being who you are is perfectly OK, but frustrations and questions come when the standard of following Christ sets in.

While it is important to follow norms, rules, and customs, we should not be too hard with our selves (more so with others) in as much as following Christ is concerned.

He, and only He, has the reason why we act the way we do, or at the very least, why He allowed it so. He knows the reason why He permitted certain things to happen in our lives, that brought us to where, and who we are right now.

We should never lose our identity in the process of serving our God. We can never really share, and show Christ to anyone, if we’ll fail to acknowledge who we are, if we’ll fail to become the way we are designed to be.

St. Catherine of Siena: "Be who God meant you to be and you will set the world on fire."

The trick therefore, is how to create more opportunities, so that others may experience HIM through our uniqueness.

Let us LIVE our lives to the full, LAUGH more often, and LOVE out loud.

patience is indeed a virtue.

I think I've mentioned that i am impatient in one of my blogs but I did not really dwell much on it. There’s no point of denying that. I always rush things and I am easily irritated especially when things don’t come my way. Needless to say that patience does not come naturally to me.

So every time I hear people saying: “Patience is a virtue”, I will jokingly ask, “Whatever happened to ‘time is gold’?”

As the dictionary would describe it, patience can either be the ability to endure waiting without becoming annoyed or upset, or to persevere calmly when faced with difficulties. I happened to experience and realize it just this weekend because of two inspiring and passionate organic farmers (who are, by the way, patiently waiting for the "right one" haha!) and my Bohol adventures (yes, including the part, when I missed my flight ... again! hehe!).



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Kitsokoy's thoughts:

Patience has to have trust || Trust has to have patience. You can’t be patient if you don’t believe that things aren't random and that they happen for a reason. Likewise, you can never really say you trust if you can’t be calm in difficult situations, if you can’t wait for God’s perfect timing for His perfect gift.

Patience helps you find joy (even) most especially in trying times. I have always believed that happiness is a choice, but it can only be an option if you see delays as a part of life, if you increase your respect/compassion towards others, and if you have peace in your heart. In other words: if you want to be truly happy, practice patience.

Patience is the virtue that sets apart “being still” from “doing nothing”. It compels you to seek peacefully and persevere calmly. It is actively preparing for the things you are humbly begging for, it is enduring the delay should God say "Wait", and it is willingly bearing the pain of moving on should God say "No".






Perhaps waiting can be annoying sometimes but are we just going to allow that to define us? Perhaps the pain is too much to bear, but aren’t we called to be faithful at all times?

May I learn to live with patience, choose to laugh instead of becoming upset, and love amidst hardships.

kitsokoy090113

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PS. When you get to visit Bohol, don't forget to go to, or even stay at, BOHOL COCO FARM. Cheap backpackers accommodation, good ambiance, great food, and awesome people! Try Coco Pancit, and the Camote Top Splash. :D

If you want to checkout their facebook page, click here.

Are you with the right partner?

Given what I've been through, I am not actually the right person to post something like this but I'll share this anyway. I'm hoping that you'll enjoy this as much as I did. hehe.

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ARE YOU WITH THE RIGHT PARTNER..???

During a seminar, a woman asked," How do I know if I am with the right person?"

The author then noticed that there was a large man sitting next to her so he said, "It depends. Is that your partner?" In all seriousness, she answered "How do you know?" Let me answer this question because the chances are good that it's weighing on your mind replied the author.

Here's the answer.

Every relationship has a cycle… In the beginning; you fall in love with your partner. You anticipate their calls, want their touch, and like their idiosyncrasies. Falling in love wasn't hard. In fact, it was a completely natural and spontaneous experience. You didn't have to DO anything. That's why it's called "falling" in love.

People in love sometimes say, "I was swept of my feet."Picture the expression. It implies that you were just standing there; doing nothing, and then something happened TO YOU.

Falling in love is a passive and spontaneous experience. But after a few months or years of being together, the euphoria of love fades. It's a natural cycle of EVERY relationship.

Slowly but surely, phone calls become a bother (if they come at all), touch is not always welcome (when it happens), and your spouse's idiosyncrasies, instead of being cute, drive you nuts. The symptoms of this stage vary with every relationship; you will notice a dramatic difference between the initial stage when you were in love and a much duller or even angry subsequent stage.

At this point, you and/or your partner might start asking, "Am I with the right person?" And as you reflect on the euphoria of the love you once had, you
may begin to desire that experience with someone
else. This is when relationships breakdown.

The key to succeeding in a relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the person you found.



People blame their partners for their unhappiness and look outside for fulfillment. Extramarital fulfillment comes in all shapes and sizes.

Infidelity is the most common. But sometimes people turn to work, a hobby, friendship, excessive TV, or abusive substances. But the answer to this dilemma does NOT lie outside your relationship. It lies within it.

I'm not saying that you couldn't fall in love with someone else. You could. And TEMPORARILY you'd feel better. But you'd be in the same situation a few years later.

Because (listen carefully to this):

The key to succeeding in a Relationship is not finding the right person; it's learning to love the Person you found.

SUSTAINING love is not a passive or spontaneous experience. You have to work on it day in and day out. It takes time, effort, and energy. And most importantly, it demands WISDOM. You have to know WHAT TO DO to make it work. Make no mistake about it.

Love is NOT a mystery. There are specific things you can do (with or without your partner), Just as there are physical laws Of the universe (such as gravity), there are also laws for relationships. If you know how to apply these laws, the results are predictable.

Love is therefore a "decision". Not just a feeling.

Remember this always: God determines who walks into your life. It is up to you to decide who you let walk away, who you let stay, and who you refuse to let GO....!!