Family Matters

It is amazing how many people struggle with life. Life has become so hectic and difficult for most people that many can only focus on what is going to happen today, tomorrow, next month and maybe, only maybe, next year.

I think if you scanned people’s brain, you would find that their brain is busy, busy, busy, thinking about the dishes, the bills, the alarm clock and shopping with only small breaks for planning next month’s birthday party. Most people are in survival mode. When I ask about next year or what is going to happen in ten years, they look at me as if I fell from the sky.

The easiest way to increase your kids’ self esteem is to send them to have dinner at friends’ house or encourage them to sleep over with their friends. If you think I am joking, keep reading.

Every person dreams about extreme happiness, a time when we do only the things we want, spend most of our time with the people we love the most, have the money to give ourselves everything we want, are at the peak of our health and our life is perfect.

When I was 14, I promised myself to have words like Marianne Williamson’s quote above on the walls of my house to keep me inspired. For those of you who know me, my house has such writings on the walls, in every diary, on every photo album and on the bathroom mirror (in lipstick). I am inspired!

I got this story from a good friend (Thank you, Norm) and thought I would share it here, because it touched my heart and I wanted it to touch yours.

Two men, both seriously ill, occupied the same hospital room. One man was allowed to sit up in his bed for an hour each afternoon to help drain the fluid from his lungs.

For most of us, the word “judgment” has bad connotations. It is almost equivalent to criticism. We associate it with laws, trials and with sentences - with power. There are judgmental people; there is a judge in court and even a “judgment day”.

In the personal growth process, we aim to solve the puzzle of our right to judge. Are we allowed to judge? Is it good for us? How to live with the label of being “judgmental”?

When judgment is the weighing of evidence and feelings in order to make a choice, the real question is “Can we be non-judgmental”?

Many of my clients tell me I need to work for the Department of Education to encourage people to become teachers. Since I am so passionate about my teaching and I think it is the best job ever, they think I can convince any person, even those who do not like children, to shift to education.

I have my doubts about convincing any person, but I am sure that being an educator is the best job ever.

We live in a very special era. We are exposed to things today that 100 years ago we could only dream of. Think for example, 100 years ago, only lucky people living next to the ocean knew how a whale sounded. Today, every 3-year-old can tell you how a whale sounds and looks.

Technology has helped a lot to bring the world to our homes. In the beginning, there were photos, then moving picture and now live telecasts, showing things as they happen. We heave reached a point where we do not leave home and we think we can experience life through the screens of our TV and our computer.

But we cannot!

The first step to getting your goal is to start moving. “Even if you are on the right track, you’ll get run over if you just sit there”, said Will Rogers. You see, in the fast-paced world of expanding knowledge and amazing technology, if you’re not moving forward, you’re moving backward. The world does not wait for us in sympathy, to just stop feeling sorry for ourselves, or sort out our excuses. Every day we procrastinate increases the gap, and tomorrow we’ll have to run faster in order to catch up.