And above all things have fervent love for one another,

for love will cover a multitude of sins.

-1 Peter 4:8

Never exploit love. That will be a great religious revolution in your life. Never exploit love. If somebody loves you, don’t bring any conditions to it. If you love somebody, don’t make him a cripple. Let your love become spacious and unconditional. Give more space to the person than he had when he was alone. Give him nourishment. But don’t poison his nourishment, don’t possess him. Let him be free. More free than he ever was. And then love grows into deep intimacy.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

You may see me struggle
but you won’t see me fall.
Regardless if I win the battle
I’m still going to stand tall.

People say life is easy
but truth is, life is nasty
Times do get tough
You’d want to cry, “Enough is enough!”

I’m going to wear the biggest smile
though I want to burst out and cry
I’m going to put up a good fight to live
even though I’m destined to die

Even though it may be hard and I may struggle through it all
and you may see me gasping for air, you will never see me fall.

-jamieywrites

Revenge, at first though sweet,

Bitter ere long back on itself recoils.

-John Milton

The concept of revenge is as old as history. Almost since the dawn of the written word, humans have had the desire to exact vengeance on others who have wronged us. It is something that we find sweet and satisfying – to know that the other person got what was coming to them, what we think they deserve. We love to get even. We want them to hurt like we were hurt.

Our natural tendency is payback.

The idea is that because they hurt us, we now owe them some hurt in return. And that’s one debt we’re only too glad to settle. In fact, usually it’s not enough to “get even”. We usually want to add just a little more pain… because we are sinful creatures.

It is tempting to try to take on the role as personal vendettas and seek to punish those who we feel deserve it. In fact, our fight for justice is often masking an internal battle: we want revenge.

This is why the Mosaic Law contains the command “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the children of your people, but you shall love your neighbour as yourself” (Leviticus 19:18).

I believe revenge starts a chain effect. Since “violence begets more violence”, revenge works to perpetuate the problem and what goes around comes around. Endlessly. No matter who started it, but when it is fuelled by revenge… it goes on and on, even generations after generations.

Revenge is not justice. Revenge does not make us a hero. It doesn’t make us any better than those who have wronged us.

As Confucius quoted, “Before you embark on a journey of revenge, dig two graves.” So unless you’re ready to dig two graves – one for punished and one for you, the punisher – do yourself a favour. Forgive.

Happy forgiving and en(reach)ing lives!

When we understand the impact of our thoughts, we realise that we have the power to choose how to feel.
 

It is impossible to FEEL angry, or stressed, or sad, or fearful without first having angry, or stressed, or sad, or fearful THOUGHTS.
 

Since we can influence our experience by choosing our thoughts, we can choose to feel gratitude, happiness, forgiveness, and love.
 

Unhappiness can only exist in the presence of negative thoughts, but we needn’t be prisoners of those thoughts because we have the power to choose positive emotions, simply by thinking about all we have to be happy for.
 

Of course problems still exist, life isn’t easy, but by accepting those things over which we have no control, we have more energy to spend on appreciating all we have to be grateful for.. and there is ALWAYS something!
 

Start en(reach)ing lives with your positive thoughts!
 
 

A still tongue makes a wise head.

-Traditional proverb

In ancient Greece, Socrates was reputed to hold knowledge in high esteem. One day an acquaintance met the great philosopher and said, “Socrates, do you know what I just heard about your friend?”
 

“Hold on a minute,” Socrates replied. “Before telling me anything I’d like you to pass a little test. It’s called the Triple Filter Test. Before you talk to me about my friend, it might be a good idea to take a moment and filter what you’re going to say. The first filter is Truth. Have you made absolutely sure that what you are about to tell me is true?”
 

“No,” the man said, “actually I just heard about it and…”
 

“All right,” said Socrates. “So you don’t really know if it’s true or not. Now let’s try the second filter, the filter of Goodness. Is what you are about to tell me about my friend something good?”
 

“No, on the contrary…”
 

“So,” Socrates continued, “you want to tell me something bad about him, but you’re not certain it’s true. You may still pass the test though, because there’s one filter left: the filter of Usefulness. Is what you want to tell me about my friend going to be useful to me?”
 

“No, not really.”
 

“Well,” concluded Socrates, “if what you want to tell me is neither true nor good nor even useful, why tell it to me at all?”
 

Lesson: What’s the good of telling the whole world about your friends’ problems? It just makes you look bad and breaks the trust.
 

Happy en(reach)ing lives with kind words!
 
 

Follow your passion and your dream,

they the know way.

-jamieywrites

You’ve got to follow your passion. You’ve got to figure out what it is you love – who you really are. And have the courage to do that. I believe that the only courage anybody ever needs is the courage to follow your own dreams. People may give you a piece of their mind, their two cents worth… but the most important voice to follow is your heart, your passion!

Happy en(reach)ing lives… including your own life!
 
 

Yes you!

May you always be blessed with
Walls for the wind.
A roof for the rain.
A warm cup of tea by the fire.
Laughter to cheer you.
Those you love near you.
And all that your heart might desire.

Many people need a word of comfort, a shoulder to lean on… or maybe a thoughtful prayer.

Play your part by en(reach)ing someone’s life today!

May the road rise up to greet you.
May the wind always refresh and renew.
May the sun shine warm upon your crown,
and rains fall soft upon your grounds.
And until we meet again,
I leave with you sweet blessing and some champagne.

-jamieywrites

Let’s raise our glasses to the great 2012 and may our 2013 be overflowing with love, joy and peace!

If you’re not making mistakes, then you’re not doing anything.

I’m positive that a doer makes mistakes.

-John Wooden

Don’t ever get stuck in your past or start identifying yourself with struggles or mistakes. Always remember they are steps along the way, necessary steps. It’s usually those who have made most mistakes in the past who amount to the greatest successes in the present and future.
 

If 2012 was a ‘bad’ year, so what!? You have the whole of 2013 to make it better, you even have one more day in 2012 to start afresh.
 

Happy making a difference and en(reach)ing lives!
 
 

It is not our differences that divide us.

It is our inability to recognize, accept, and celebrate those differences.

-Audre Lorde

Just because I’m quiet, doesn’t mean I don’t have a lot to say.
Just because I appear happy, doesn’t mean everything’s okay.
Just because I laugh a lot, doesn’t mean I don’t take things seriously.
Just because I forgive, doesn’t mean you can take me for granted.
Just because I don’t keep in touch all the time, doesn’t mean I don’t care.
Just because I’m gullible, doesn’t mean you can lie to me.
Just because I’m stubborn, doesn’t mean I expect you to change for me.
Just because I don’t show my feelings, doesn’t mean I don’t have any.
Just because I don’t say I love you, doesn’t mean I don’t.
Just because I’m honest, doesn’t mean I’m outspoken.
Just because I’m not like you, doesn’t mean I’m weird.
Just because I don’t say anything, doesn’t mean I’m afraid.

 
Happy en(reach)ing lives by accepting people as they are!