Why can't I give?

What does it take to GIVE?

Took my time off on a Friday night and crossed the street in Ayala to the bus station. The exhausting rush hour pack couldn’t get me a ride so I decided to just eat my dinner in the nearest fast food. On my way, I saw two old grannies in the staircase of Mcdonalds near PBCOM. I’m not usually caring on what I see on streets, but seeing these two grannies at passed 8 in the evening, still roaming in Ayala, did caught me alittle off guard. But remembering I was hungry, I went into mcdonalds and ate my dinner. It was Friday night and exhausted from work, I wanted to go out and have fun. But for some reason, my friends (even my sister) are not available to join me in my Friday play. So instead of feeling sorry, I just tried to appreciate the book I was reading and stayed in mcdonalds. I engrossed myself with reading and lose track of time. After two hours and realizing it was already 10pm, I stood up and walk out of the fast food. Just a few steps out, I once again saw the two grannies, this time they were asking me for a penny. I continued my steps forward when I felt something strange that I stepped back towards them. I didn’t give them money at first, to my amazement, what I did was to talk to them. I took time to talk to them, asked questions to know them better and their concerns. It was a good 20minutes of my time knowing these people. People who were passing by were looking and curious with what I was doing with them, and for some reason I felt different again. Realizing it was getting late, I’ve invited them to go home and since they’d take the bus I’m taking, I’ve joined them til I reached my stop. I gave them a few bucks and I’m thinking of returning to them to answer alittle of what they need. I just need to take time in collating and asking from people who are also willing to give.

“Doing such will take a great deal of my time and money”, as I’ve always thought in the past, for I was thinking of my own resources and time. If I’m not different now, they would have been somebody I’ll just passed by; either coz I have no time or money to offer. Such experience made me realized something again, that if only I’ll take my time to notice them, to get to know them and their concerns, I can be a bridge to the fortunate people who can give something to these people who were less fortunate. And as I’ve noticed, a lot still have good hearts that are willing to GIVE.

GIVING will not take so much of your money and time. Just a percentage of your monthly earnings, even just 1%, if combined with the other 1% of others can create a change in the lives of other people who weren’t as fortunate as you are. Giving money is fulfilling enough, but I realized, taking time to spend with these people that you gave your help, sure creates a bigger change, not only in your character but in your whole life as well.

Remember, life is short. Two important things at the end of it is:

1) How happy you were?
2) How happy others were because of you?

Start giving and experience the happiness it gives your life and other people’s lives. :)

Full-time with part-time

Months ago, I was someone living a life of prestige, stability and security only achieved thru a highly-valued employment. Back then, I was a full-time professional accountant working my way up to the ladder of the corporate world. But along the way, little by little my eyes opened up to a different world, a reality that got not only my attention but my whole life in totality.
Now, I’m living in a world of unstable, non-secured and non-prestige life of a free person. I’m currently resigning from my stable and secured job with no assured job to replace it yet. For I have this free mindset that made me choose to let go of the stable and secured life to face the bigger possibility of being successful in where I can do best.

The freedom excites me for I can see great possibilities of my success, but the temporary setbacks and emotional feeling of the unknown is what I’m currently struggling to face. Such includes the feeling of exhaustion on having to get up in the morning and walk towards work. I gave the current company a two months notice of my resignation for I have some paper works that I still need to finish. And right now, I still have 36-days left to drag myself again and again. But for past two days, I’ve been at home on leave trying to find out how to settle the upcoming days of no pay, plus start planning in building my businesses. Unlike others who calculate a lot before taking their jump, in this decision I had, I rationalized for several months convincing myself to be safe and secured in staying until such day comes I can no longer tolerate the weight of dragging myself to work that I decided to finally resign and leave with just my confidence and faith on my baggage. What I did is to decide and take on the circumstances that I’d be facing along the way.

Early circumstance of my choice of freedom is the question, what’s next? After being comfortable in a company for two years, here I am trying to figure out where I want to go next. If I’m not different now, I’d for sure look for another company that can give me much better prestige, stability and security that I can work on full-time. But different as I am, now I’m considering the fact of being full-time in part-time. And how the heck is that?
Being full time with part time just means focusing on looking for work that won’t have prestige and stability but will give me part-time income that I’d be needing to sustain my monetary needs but at the same time can give me my time that I need in producing the things that are important to me, and building the wealth that I dream. :)

This is the journey that I’ve decided to live on starting the day I chose my freedom over prestige. And despite all the circumstances, both good and bad, that’ll come my way, my spirit is uplifting me too much for it excites me to sail my journey, meet the circumstances and lessons along the way until finally, I find my dreams. :)

As Steve Jobs have quoted,

“If u are working on something exciting that u really care about, u don't have to be pushed. The vision pulls u.”

Filipina - A Mother & Leader

Few days ago, the name Cory Aquino didn’t appeal that much to me. She was just a political figure who I’ve been hearing since year 1. I’m EDSA 1 baby myself, born in February of 1986. I really didn’t know how much this person has contributed to our country and to my life ‘til this day.
I knew and have seen that she’s a big contribution in our country just by how much people she have influenced now that she’s dead, but something have kept me thinking with her life and death. I’ve appreciate not her presidency but her life as a mother and as a leader. Her influence awed me so much that started last Monday when I was in Ayala Avenue waiting with thousands of other professionals and non-professionals in Makati, waiting under the sun, just to pay tribute to her when she passes by our area. People waited for two hours for a 5-15 minutes glimpse of her. It was heartfelt and overwhelming to see professionals gathering together for this woman, a non-career and typical-loving-Filipina mother who became a president by calling and fate.

Then today, here in Quirino Avenue Malate, I paid tribute to her once again with the masses of Malate, a mixture of suburbs and urban poor community. Once again, I felt the contribution of this Filipina woman of affection, integrity and faith.

She reminds of my own personal mission statement. To live a life with the end in mind, a life that’s live with values that are important to me and to keep a life of integrity, affection, love and faith and a strong will to keep moving forward in this life. :D

Almost Broke

If not death, one’s most feared situation is getting financially broke, for it does not feel right and fair that after getting a great degree in college, worked in a prestigious company for several years, you’d admit to yourself that you are indeed broke. You take a deep breath and instruct yourself to not panic then positively double check all your bank statements, but reality sinks in, it is glooming you with “zero” balance account. If it can only speak, it would want to scream at your face “You’re doomed to get broke”, then, you allow yourself to panic.

But what does it feel to be broke anyway?
I’m not sure specifically, but for a saver like me, not seeing a load of money in my bank statement and having to pay outstanding loans (without seeing the goods I’ve purchased or travels to brag) already makes me feel dizzy and ready to admit that I am almost broke. So I ask myself why and what had happened?
I’ve been feeling really down and experiencing breakdowns, recently. The idea of getting almost broke does makes the worry freakiness over me. This isn’t surprise situation for me for I knew that the moment a person decides to let go of comfort, uneasiness happens, of which I am facing now. Just a few weeks ago, I’ve finally decided to let go of my current state to face the challenge and uncertainty of a different state (aka dream). Such dream is what most people do not try to live on for as I’ve said, it’s uncertain and unstable. Different mind as I am now, I’m willing to face its uncertainty and start all over again so I can redirect myself to the new path I want to live on. And as someone has said, she thinks I’m in a crossroad that she hopes I wouldn’t regret.

Life I’ve learned will never be regretful if you have the proper mentality to choose a moving forward attitude. As I’ve noticed, our decisions and actions today will greatly affect how we will be tomorrow, be it we decide over it or not, consciously or not. And unlike fairy tales, life isn’t going to give you a perfectly smooth journey in whatever path you’d take, for it’ll surely give you trials to learn lessons on your way, be you accept it or not. So don’t expect things to be perfectly okay in all aspect, for it’ll never be as long as you’re breathing the air of mother earth. If you expect a 100% worry-free journey, you’re doomed to get broken.

So what to do when you’re almost there, reaching that zero balance, and worse, negative brokenness of life?

All you need is your attitude and faith, that moving forward mentality and belief in yourself. It wouldn’t be a smooth journey, but as long as you keep your focus and faith in the end you picture, it will be all worth it.